Team News
Corey Felton - Avalanche encounter
Feb 3 2009
So some of you have heard and others have not. Here is the entire
story. Last Wednesday the 28th of January I was caught in an
avalanche. My roommate Topher, my brother Taylor and myself where
snowmobile skiing about 14 miles back in the mountains. It had been
snowing all day and we decided to ski an aspect that we all felt very
safe about. The entire ordeal happened at about 2:30 pm. We where at
the top of the run that we wanted to ski and felt pretty safe about
the situation. Topher dropped in first and jumped extremely hard on
the slope to try to get it to move. No such luck. Hey then radios up
to me and tells me that he feels that the bottom half of the slope
might go so why don't we come to him and ski cut it. Knowing that
Topher and I are more experienced then my brother I sent him next and
had him jump on the slope to see if he could get it to move. Once
again no such luck. Topher radios up that Taylor is right next to him
and to come down. I drop in and do not even jump on the slope. I am
making my way down and I am about ten feet from Taylor and our safe
zone when he yells slide. I look up and figured I could make it out
of the way. Just as I am about to get to them I dive for a small tree
because I see the slide has picked up a lot of speed. I was off
Taylors tails of his skis by about 5 feet and the slide takes me. I
go for about a 700 foot ride banging off rocks and trees. This was
way more brutal then the slide in Alaska. Everything happened so fast
and in what felt like 2 seconds I was buried and could not move. I
had an air pocket I had made with my hand right before the snow
settled but it was not a big one. My roommate Topher and Taylor then
started searching for me. I was buried for 4 minutes and five feet
down. I passed out after about 2 minutes and could not move a single
muscle. Needless to say those two killed it get to me. They where
700 feet above me, barley had my last point of reference and had me
out in 4 minutes.
Right now I am pretty bruised up but my helmet and those two saved my
life. It feels like someone took a baseball bat to my mid section
from all the trees, but both knees feel pretty good. As far as where
my head is it was one of the scariest experiences of my life but there
is no way in hell this will slow me down. Somehow this makes me more
motivated. I know that we where not doing anything stupid and it was
shit luck. I was the third person on the slope and it went. However,
as I was buried I had 100% faith in the fact that those two would find
me. I might pass out but they will find me. In terms of the aspect
of the slope it was about a 30 degree slope at 9000 feet facing North
East. So I am taking a few days off and healing myself. I thought
all you guys should know what is up and that I am ok. Thanks again
for all your support and once I heal up a little more I will be right
back out there.
Corey
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