BOTHELL, Wash. — A Bothell man is lucky to be alive after spending more than four hours buried in an avalanche at Stevens Pass Ski Resort.
A lot of things had to go right for skier Michael Harris to make it off the mountain alive.
One key factor in his survival was his wife’s use of the ‘Find My’ iPhone app, which alerted her that something was wrong and helped rescuers find out exactly where he was buried.
“Up on that mountain, I’d resigned myself that I probably wasn’t coming down that mountain. I had kind of accepted my fate,” Harris said. “The surprise of waking up in the back of an ambulance, being treated, and feeling alive is something I will never forget.”
Harris is no stranger to fresh powder, and he was getting plenty of it at Stevens Pass on Thursday. Around noon, though, the ground gave out under him, and he found himself buried in the snow.
Harris sat for hours, with snow packed so tightly against his body that he couldn’t move. He eventually blacked out.
His wife, Penny Harris, was tracking his location. After seeing his phone had not moved and being unable to get in touch with him, she hurried to the ski resort to get in touch with rescuers.
“I was sitting there, just waiting to find my husband, anticipating the retrieval of a body,” she said.
But Harris was not dead. Thanks to avalanche training and luck, he was buried with an air bubble the size of a beach ball right in front of his face. With his wife’s help, rescuers knew exactly where to dig to find him.
“She’s the best,” he said. “She’s my lifesaver.”
Harris regained consciousness in the back of an ambulance. He had hypothermia, a lung full of fluid, and a broken leg. He won’t be able to walk for weeks and won’t be fully active for months.
That’s pretty good, he said, for what he’s been through.
“I would not have believed this story if I hadn’t lived through it myself,” Harris said. “I’ve been blessed. I have a second chance. I thought I was leading a good life, but I want to lead an even better one.”
Harris spent five days in the hospital in Everett but returned home Tuesday afternoon. His family has put together a GoFundMe to support him in his recovery. You can donate here.
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