Sandy man survives fall down icy mountainside


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SANDY -- A Sandy man is recovering from a near fatal fall, down an icy mountainside in Little Cottonwood Canyon. He was with a group of scouts, when he lost his footing. A video of the fall shows just how lucky Hiram Thornton is.

Thornton was with a group of scouts at Maybird last week, when he got too close to a giant snow field and slid more than 300 feet into a boulder field.

It took the other leaders 30 minutes to reach


Thornton, who is a nurse, used his training to help keep himself from going into shock.

Thornton and they called 911.

Thornton, who is a nurse, used his training to help keep himself from going into shock while he waited for a LifeFlight helicopter to arrive and lift Thornton off the mountain.

He spent two days in the hospital and is still recovering from broken ribs, a separated clavicle and serious bruising and abrasions on his hip.

"I was just glad it was me that went down the hill and not one of those 16 year old boys. I don't think they would have been as lucky," he said.

Thornton is doing much better as you can see and is trying to recover enough, so he can help his wife, who is due to deliver a baby sometime in the next week.

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