life means so much- let others know how much it means to share it with them.

Guys last night i found myself in a bit of a pickle..

Mrs. Hooter Rooter and i had for mnths had plans for this week, i was going on a small skiing/snoeshow trip near Toas nm, and this morning she was going to fly off to hawaii..

well after we decided to get married we decided to keep our plans, then she surprised me with a ticket to join her ( i leave tomorrow morning)

the Yurt we stayed at was quite awesome in fact here it is: http://www.southwestnordiccenter.com/taosyurtdescription.htm

anyhow yesterday after breakfast the four freinds and i began to head up the ridge of the mountians behind us after deciding Wheeler mnt. would be a bit to exhausting for 2 memebers of our group.. then shortly after we began our oldest member of the group headed back, the reaminign 4 of us headed up the mountian though, however on our return trip things went nightmarishly wrong. the four remaining of us were a coupel quite used to the outdoors, like myself, but far more expereinced in cross country skiing. i was in shoeshoes for the first time ever. the other woman with us- jackie was deaf in one ear and had a battery giving her issue's in the hearing aid of her "better" ear.

at one point, jackie headed in a diffrent direction than the couple- (we were off trail to begin with) and i told them i'd go fetch her, then they continued back the way we came, however I kept sinking in the snow and was actauly loosing ground with her, at one point i sank to my waist and got my snoeshow stuck under a log, i beleive it took me over 20 minutes to dig myself out.

at that point i was worried about Jackie, she was going off in the wrong direction and i was falling behind her. I figgured she'd be ok, but if she didnt stop it'd be a looong time getting back to the Yurt. Eventauly I realized she was defintly lost and i rushed to catch up with her.

then i found a spot that was extremly steep her tracks led right to the steep side of the mountian we were on, and it looked like she'd fallen and slid down the mountian side. I got my whistle out and began to blow it and to my relief she answerd back, the problem was, neither of us could understand what the other person was saying. at this point it was maybe 1 or 1:30 and i was afraid to leave her, not sure of her condition or that she might try to leave..

well while trying to figgure out a strategy apparently i was hit by a sort of avelanche. I have no idea how it happened or when, I just realized i was racing downhill out of control smashing into tree's and brush all the way but too fast to be stopped. folks i thought it was over and ive never been so scared in my life. our best guess is i traveled at least 150 feet before i maneged to catch a small limb off some brush. I dont even recall how i did that. suddenly i was just there hanging.

At this point i could now hear and understand most of what jackie was saying, but i was also almost totaly bureid in snow, only my face and one arm were not buried. my poles were gone and after i dug myself out my clothes were literaly stuffed with snow. now talking to jackie i found out she was physicaly fine but lost and scared- and she was unsure of what direction i was in, so she couldnt even attempt to come to me.

i was able to dig my way out and make myself secure. luckily i'd brought my backpack eith me and extra clothes in case the mountians where windy that day up on top. I also had 2 litters of water, my first aid kit, 3 sources of fire starting materials and my Kabar knife ( i know owe my life too), 3 packs of hand warmers and a meal's worth of beef jerky.

jackie was beneath me a few hundred feet but i didnt know if it was safe to move or what lay directly below me. I also had begun to shiver violently and realized between the cold and possible shock i could be seriously hurt and not yet aware of it. before the others decided something might be wrong hours could pass and i thought it was too dangerous for anyone to attempt to get down to us.. in other words i began to think Search and Resue was going to be needed.

so i spent the next few hours securing my location, and using what means i had to provide as much warmth as i could for myself while pleading with jackie to use her time and energy NOW to build herself some sort of shelter. I really didnt expect to be found till morning.

guys, i was in bad shape, I knew it and beleived i'd survive the night, but in the condition i was in already, my one goal was to live to morning when i'd be rescued and hopefully i'd survive at least long enough to say goodbye to my wife and hopefully my parents, I knew i had to use all my skills and keep my mind focused on living in THAT minute. Do what i could to keep Jackie from panicing and do what i could to prepare myself for night.

around 5 pm though the couple had located where we came down the side of the mountina and while Bethany went for help Patrick made his way to us, I'd prepared some wood for a fire, but was saving the fuel for nightfall. Patrick though got to me and realized i was already suffering from hypothermea and was dabbeling on and on..

he maneged to convince me to get a fire going then and added to the warm& dry clothes then went to help Jackie, it was over an hr later that he got up to me, was able to yell loud enuff that his wife uphill from us knew to get help and then helped me get down the mountian. once i got down i was almost too exhausted to go anywhere.

as luck would have it we were right along the Red River and Jackie hadnt seen it but were were less than 200 yards from a Cabin!!

we were able to use my knife to pry away the metal skirting and then bust in a window, by that time i was almost unable to stand and my feet were screaming in pain. my entire body ached. even though the cabin didnt have phone service, Patrick was able to get the electricty on and i half layed on the floor by the fireplace and got a fire going. the whole night we were never able to get the place over 36 degree's.

but we didnt know how bethany or our other freind were doing, or if she;d got back herself. Was help on the way?

we got 2 mattreses to the floor and layed them side by side and after drinking multiple cups of hot water covered ourselves with 16 blankets and hunkered down for the night to help me warm up i got the middle.

around midnight though, the rescue team showed up. they had quite a number of folks looking for us and we then knew the others were ok. we made a decision that though apperantly uninjured, i was too cold and weak to hike out so we stayed through the morning. we got home earlier this afternoon.

guys ive been in several situations where i thought i was in big trouble, but this was the worst and scariest ive ever experinced. especaily when i was stuck on the side of that mountian, I knew i could live through the night, everything i did was with that goal in mind, but i was unsure that'd i'd survive much beyond that even with help. The only thing i wanted was to last long enough to tell my wife how much i loved her and say goodbye to her and my parents if need be. absolutely nothing else mattered anymore.

tonight i talked to my parents for several hours and my wife wasnt contacted as no one had her number availible till well after we were located and i asked her to NOT be told, i didnt want her worried or to decide to not go to hawaii. Tomorrow morning i fly out for hawaii as well and i cannot wait to see my wife. just over 24 hrs ago she was my reason to keep trying to stay alive.

Thats something ive thought about all day now that we're safe. I was willing to accept that death was very likely, but that i was willing to fight to stay around to tell my loved ones i loved them, the fear of not seeing them again was greater than my fear of dying.

unfortunelty, I've got another 24 hrs or so to wait before i see my wife again, to hold her and tell her how much i love her, thats why i'm writing ya'll, most of you have at least some loved ones nearby.. how much longer will they be in your life, or you in theirs?

do me a favor guys, go right now and tell them how much they mean to you, how glad you are that they're a part of your life and give them a big hug... just hold onto them and think about it for a while, when it comes right down to it aren;t the people that we know and love the very reason we live?

take care, and luv you all.

Matty

Matty,

Wow. . . just wow!!

When does the movie come out?

Amazing!!

Glad all turned out OK.

beat

beat wrote:Glad all turned out OK.

My thoughts exactly. While you're in Hawaii, maybe you should stick with working on your tan and avoid the parascubasailingsurfing. You've had enough adventure for a while.

Outside

Hooter

I might have some of this wrong but I remember a Sports Illustrated story about a Minn Viking think it was Jim Marshall who was snomobiling and got lost/disabled in a blizzard. To survive he used $$$$ bills to start a small fire to keep warm.

here is a bit about it

But all of those pale in comparison to what happened to Marshall and a group of snowmobilers in late January of 1971. Marshall was part of a group of 16 snowmobilers that set off from Red Lodge, Montana on what was supposed to be a 55-mile snowmobile trip to Cooke, Wyoming. Blizzard conditions left them stranded, and one member of their party even died of exposure after the group got lost and their snowmobiles broke down. Marshall recounted the trip to Sid Hartman a few days after it happened.

"Finally, young Leiviska (15 years old) located a piece of land with a grove of trees and a hill in back of it to block the wind. We decided to try and stay there for the night.

"The snow was about 10 to 15 feet deep in this area.

"Dickson took out his lighter and we started the fire with five one-dollar bills, some candy wrappers, my checkbook and billfold.

"The snow melted, giving us a hole about six feet deep by eight feet wide.

"Dickson had some $20 bills to keep the fire going.

"Money didn’t mean anything at this stage," Marshall said. "You can’t beat nature with money. We would have burned everything we had if necessary.

"We kept the fire going with any wood which would burn, including boughs and pine cones. We also stripped the low branches of 15 to 20 trees.

Marshall and his party were eventually found, and it's pretty amazing that their group only suffered the one casualty that it did, given the severity of the conditions.

To a similar degree it sounds a bit like your ordeal.

But I'm betting you never ran the wrong direction on a football field like he did!

beat

Matty,

Always glad to hear a happy ending.

One time I was scuba diving off the Rhode Island coast and got separated from my buddy as we started back towards shore. By sheer fate, the waves brought him straight up onto the beach. In my case, they threw me onto a bunch of rocks. Again and again and again. I clung to one, trying to get my bearings. While I was doing that the surf was pulling back and the full weight of my weight belt and tank were trying to drag me off the rock and then the surf rushed back in, lifting me up and throwing me against the rock. The wind was getting knocked our of me, my arms were getting tired from holding the weight of me and my gear onto the rock and I was getting low on air, so I didn't think I should just dive down under the surf and swim for it. I was finally able to see a channel that, if I could get around the rock without being thrown about like a ragdoll, I could reach and at least get out of the direct path of the surf. I was able to do it and snorkel my way to the beach, where I lay there gasping like a fish on a dock (my friend, who got there with ease, asked me what my problem was?).

After that, I have always been grateful for every break I get. You never know when you won't get one.

Enjoy Hawaii. There's no frostbite there.

bob

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Matty,

Be well and enjoy the warmth of your wife and Hawaii (in that order). Your survival was a gift! I think it was Leo Durocher who said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." It's a good thing you were in such good shape and rose above the terror to think straight. Easier said than done.

I've been having similar thoughts to your philosophy, as yesterday the house of my daughter and her boyfriend burned down. They lost pretty much everything, although they were both at work and weren't personally injured.

As you discovered, priorities immediately form in disaster situations. In their case, the number one priority was the welfare of their cats, who were rescued by firefighters but had ingested so much smoke that—even though given oxygen by the firefighters on the spot—were 50/50 to make it through a night of oxygen at the vet's office.

Today, the vet announced that both cats were doing well (at least for now). Although they lost most of their worldly belongings in the fire, Sandy and Kevin are actually buoyed because their number one priorities have apparently made it. The little family is intact, just as yours is.

Congratulations on both your survival and the fact that your love has now been blessed with yet additional dimensions.

Sam

hey guys.

got back from Hawaii yesterday. enjoyed the Big Island so much we're actauly discusing a job offer that was extended to us while there.

im actauly still sore from my expereince inthe mountians and my rib cage still is quite bothersome, but not sore enuff to prevent me from ziplinning, whale watching, horseback riding, snuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, attacking the waves- shopping with my wife, which i pleaded to get out of due to my sore ribs and the fact i still felt loopy in my head at that time, oh and then we climbed Mt. mauna kea- the worlds tallest mountian from its base in the ocean, something like 10,000 ft taller than everest!

the odd side of this story was, when i saw my wife at the airport on the Big Island she didnt know about what had happened yet. thus my overly affectionate state sort of irratedted her, when i tried to explain everything she was sure i was making up a tall tale.. untill a few calls home to the rest of the party convinced her otherwise.

i really meant what i said though about letting the ones we love and care about know exactly how much we do care about them.. and right now on the board we've got two that im sure already feel our love, Worchester and Rosalie, lets all keep them in our thoughts and prayers...

Sam, how are the Kids (if i may call them that) doiing?