BILLINGS— A male snowmobiler survived an avalanche near Cooke City Thursday, thanks to the rescue efforts of six snowmobilers nearby.
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He was caught in the avalanche on the north side of Crown Butte while snowmobiling with another male.
According to Lead Forecaster Alex Marienthal from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, the snowmobiler was buried under two to three feet of snow for a little under 15 minutes.
“Fifteen minutes is definitely about the maximum someone could survive, on average, buried under debris. People have lived longer, but your survival chances go down very quickly after 10 to 15 minutes,” said Marienthal.
“Thankfully, the people who were around who had the gear and training did what they needed to do to have a quick rescue and save this guy's life,” he added.
The situation is one Billings resident Scott Olson knows well. He survived an avalanche while snowmobiling in 2002.
“We knew all the avalanche warnings and went anyway, knowing we weren't going to be the guys that were going to put ourselves in that situation,” recalled Olson.
Olson had been snowmobiling in a different area near Cooke City, when the avalanche where he was trapped started.
“Here comes this avalanche boiling over the edge. And I'm like, oh, that’s why. That's why you listen to yourself, your intuition,” he said.
The avalanche carried Olson away from his snowmobile, and before long, he was buried underneath six feet of snow and debris.
“I'm encapsulated now. I can't do anything,” he recalled.
“I couldn't get any air in or out anymore. So, at that point, I just suffocated. It was over. I mean, it was like, okay, I might wake up. I might not,” he added.
Olson’s friends came to the rescue, however, and he lived to tell the story.
“I'm laying there dead. And then all of a sudden spikes of light came in,” he said.
“Without experienced avalanche people, friends, I wouldn't be here,” he added.
Olson now works as a parts specialist at Elevated Powersports in Billings, helping people find snowmobiles for their own adventures.
He recommends all snowmobilers buy an avalanche pack before going snowmobiling to help stay above snow in case of an avalanche.
“With the avalanche pack, you pull that pack right when it happens. You don't think, oh, I'm going to ride out of this,” he said.
Olson’s coworker, parts specialist Michael Purkey, agrees. Purkey said it is important for all snowmobilers to buy and understand the equipment before they go.
“If you get buried in an avalanche, they have to be able to get you out, so you're relying on them, and vice versa. So, training and gear are super important,” said Purkey.
Purkey also recommends checking avalanche conditions in the area where you are planning on snowmobiling.
“If it's bad, don't go. There are so many ways, there are so many apps out there that tell you should not be riding. There's people that still go out and ride, and those are usually the ones we hear about getting caught in avalanches,” he said.
Purkey said Friday afternoon that snowmobiling didn’t start out popular at the beginning of the season, but it’s starting to gain popularity with increased snowfall.
“This first big storm has definitely helped us out a lot. Seen probably more people today than we have in the last two weeks regarding sleds. So, didn't start as popular as normal, but we are definitely ramping up in the snowmobile world this year,” he said.
To check for avalanche conditions and find snowmobiling courses, visit the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center website.
