Man beats the odds to survive 4.5-hour avalanche burial at Stevens Pass Mountain Resort in Washington
On Feb. 26, a skier later identified as Michael Harris was solo skiing at Vail Resorts-owned Stevens Pass Mountain Resort in Washington. Described as a lifelong skier by local news and as a regular at the ski area who was familiar with local terrain, what started as a normal day on the mountain took a sudden turn to become a life-or-death scenario in a matter of seconds.
Per a report from the Northwest Avalanche Center, Harris triggered an avalanche while traversing near the top of the inbounds Big Chief Bowl around 12:10 p.m. By himself at the time and without witnesses, he became caught in the slide and was pushed into a cavity near a large boulder. By the time the avalanche stopped moving, he was fully buried, with his head estimated to be about 1.5 to two feet below the surface of the debris. He’d be stuck that way for hours.
Thankfully, his wife of 30 years, Penny, had been tracking his location periodically throughout the morning via iPhone’s ‘Find My’ function. She noticed that the dot that captured his movements around the mountain had stopped moving. That, coupled with his sudden lack of response to her texts prompted serious concern. Her actions that followed resulted in a rescue effort that ultimately saved Michael Harris’ life.
The Northwest Avalanche Center reports that the first report that Michael was missing was received around 3:45 p.m., thanks to Penny contacting patrol dispatch. This prompted an emergency response and once ski patrol arrived at the Big Chief Bowl, Michael was found in about 20 minutes with the help of the information from the Penny’s phone and a Recco receiver, followed by a confirmed avalanche probe strike.
When he was found, Harris was breathing, but he showed signs of cold exposure. He was transported down the mountain and to an ambulance, with concerns including hypothermia, a leg fracture, and non-life-threatening internal injuries. Somehow, after being buried for “at least 4.5 hours,” Harris had survived the ordeal.
Per the accident summary from the Northwest Avalanche Center, Harris reported that he saw the slope break around and above him moments before being carried down the slope. Upon being buried in a hole uphill of a rock — a terrain feature that’s believed to have contributed to a deeper burial that what would be expected in a small slide — he was able to use one arm to clear a “sizable air pocket in front of his face” — likely a crucial move that allowed him to survive for so long beneath the snow. His positioning was described as “semi-standing, bent at the waist in an “l” shape with his head downhill, face down, and one ski pressed against a rock.”
“Live avalanche recoveries of this length are rare; however, the large air pocket created by the skier, the cavity near the boulder, and the soft snows surrounding the skier may have contributed to the fact that he did not asphyxiate,” reads the report on the matter.
Per the Utah Avalanche Center, the build up of carbon dioxide from breathing is often what kills people who are involved in a fatal avalanche. Data presented by the organization shows that 93% of victims can be recovered alive if they’re dug out of the snow within 15 minutes. There’s a steep drop off of survivability by the time 45 minutes of burial hits, with only about 20 to 30% of these victims surviving. The next major drop-off in terms of the probability of surviving a burial comes around 120 minutes: “after two hours, almost no one is alive.” Michael Harris beat some serious odds and is expected to fully recover from his long burial within up to a year.
The avalanche that buried Harris was relatively small, about 30 feet wide and 15 inches deep, running about 75 vertical feet. While this wouldn’t typically be a large enough avalanche to bury or injure a person, the terrain trap of the hole and boulder in the area where Harris was found resulted in additional risk.
“Stevens Pass has over two hundred and thirty avalanche paths in the ski area boundary, and we are dedicated to making sure our mountain playground stays as safe as possible,” reads the Stevens Pass Mountain Resort website. As the avalanche that buried Harris goes to show, even when there’s a concerted mitigation effort that’s conducted, risk may still be present.