The Avalanche

I have been debating whether or not to post this on my blog, only because it was such a scary, scary thing for Joel to experience and something to not be taken lightly. Last week he was up in our central mountains snowmobiling with his brothers, Stephen, Tony, Scott and a couple of their friends. They do this trip every year (it's up near Sun Valley) and stay at a really cool lodge for two days/ two nights usually. This last Tuesday afternoon, Joel's brother Scott was caught in this avalanche. He wasn't doing anything crazy or unusual. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Joel had even been up there before him (they all had) luckily though they were only going one at a time. By the time Joel reached him (he was at the bottom, watching, as they all were) they nearly had him dug out. They weren't sure where he landed so Joel and another brother had gone around a different way to look for him there. One of the friends saw his boot sticking up (luckily) although they all wear beacons, but I'm afraid in this case it could have been too late, so thank goodness for his boot showing! When the other guys had got him out of the hole he was not breathing, so Joel grabbed him and started doing mouth-to-mouth while another guy did chest compressions. It took awhile, but his brother Scott is actually just fine. I'm sure it was just a matter of minutes (if not seconds) and the story would have been a lot different. Joel talked to a doctor at church yesterday telling him about it and the doctor told him it was probably the CPR that saved him for sure. Joel luckily had had a "refresher" course lately in Young Men's on how to do mouth-to-mouth. Scott had a hard time coming to and was very scared. They realize how lucky they are to have found him and he did not have any broken bones. It truly is amazing. The same week there were 3 snowmobilers killed in one by Jackson Hole, WY. It scares me to death, although I am so grateful there were so many strong guys there who had the equipment they needed to get Scott out and were prepared in case this DID happen. So, anyway, I post this so that it may be a reminder to all to take precautions, be prepared, and give that loved one one last hug before they leave to go anywhere!