On Easter Sunday — while many Christians throughout the Wasatch back were celebrating the resurrection of their Savior — Heber City resident had a near-death experience of his own while he was exploring the backcountry near Lake Creek.
51-year-old Shawn Irvin, a self-described avid snowmobiler, said the day’s weather conditions were relatively temperamental. It was already snowing when they arrived in the parking lot, and when they had found a good place to boondock — a term that generally means leave the beaten trail to explore powder-ridden landscapes — it was becoming thicker and was amplified by strong gusts of wind.
Irvin said he’s snowmobiled on and off throughout his life, but he’s become an avid regular of the sport over the past five years. He doesn’t miss powder days, and with his increased experience comes increased skill and a desire to keep pushing the envelope and test new terrain both in a metaphorical and physical sense.
On Sunday, however, he knew things were shaping up to be rather precarious.
“It was 20 minutes and by the time we had looked up we were somewhat disoriented,” Irvin said.
The pair decided to head back to the trail when Irvin fell off the Earth.
At least that’s what he said it felt like when he rode over what’s usually no more than a hump of snow to find it had grown into a 20-foot windlift.
“The sled just dropped 20 feet down off that cornice with me with it,” he said. “I shattered my femur on the handlebars on the way down going over the sled.”
His friend radioed to him to ask where he was.
“I was like, ‘I’m underneath you,'” Irvin said.
His buddy eventually dug him out and got the sled running. So much snow was falling, however, that Irvin couldn’t keep his snowmobile level.
“It was just sagging,” he said. “He looked at me, and we were at a point where we would have to boondock again up a ridgeline.”
Fortunately, as the wisest of backcountry adventurers with a strong appetite for adrenaline often are, Irvin was prepared for things to go wrong, and he had with him a SPOT GPS satellite messenger from Saved by SPOT, a company that offers a subscription service for folks like Irvin so that — when they fall of the edge of the earth and shatter their femurs — they can be found, and they can be helped.
It was time to activate that SOS beacon.
His iPhone’s SOS system also allowed him to communicate with Wasatch Search and Rescue, who told him to stay where he was.
It was only about 20 minutes after those messages before his rescue team of what he called “nine badass snowmobilers” made their way over the ridge and into his view.
“This is like real expert snowmobilers,” he said. “Their response time was just amazing.”
They made quick work of Irvin’s debilitated condition, and got him on a helicopter and on his way to a trauma unit in Provo. Luckily, the broken bone still stayed in the vicinity of where it belonged and did not puncture his skin.
He wanted to thank the rescuers who helped make sure his Easter riding experience turned out to be a bad day in the backcountry instead of a tragedy for his wife and other loved ones.
“I just want to thank all those people involved,” he said. “There were a lot of effort with a lot of people with a lot of knowledge and nobody should ever take that for granted.”
He also spoke about his story as a cautionary tail for other adventurers who could find themselves in unpleasant predicaments and need a helping hand — or an airlift — out.
“In off-grid areas, if you don’t have a device like SPOT, it’s a waste of time,” he said. “Conditions can change drastically.”