Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
AMERICAN FORK — A group of snowmobilers in American Fork Canyon showed true heroism last weekend as they banded together to rescue a man trapped in an avalanche.
Dustin Sweeten, a seasoned snowmobiler with over 50 years of experience, said the group was in the right place at the right time.
On the afternoon of Jan. 13, a group of snowmobilers triggered the avalanche. The snow carried three of the men away, burying one man completely. His group had no idea where he was. Luckily, that's when Sweeten and his group stopped to ask if everyone was OK.
Urgency of the situation
As soon as they learned someone was buried the group pulled out their beacons. "It said 3.2 meters that way," Sweeten said, pointing to the right.
Miraculously, they stopped at the spot where the man was buried.
Sweeten described the urgency of the situation as rescuers dropped to their knees, working swiftly to free the trapped man who had been buried for over six minutes.
"The snow was packed inside his helmet against his mouth, nose, everything. We had to physically clear that out so he could breathe," Sweeten told KSL-TV in an exclusive interview.
Sweeten, also the owner of a powersports shop in Utah County, unknowingly had a personal connection to the victim — a man whom he has known for more than 35 years.
"I know this person. I know his wife, I know his kids. I thought, 'OK, I can't explain to them that their dad didn't live,'" he recalled thinking.
The emotional weight of the situation heightened as they successfully cleared the densely packed snow around the man's helmet. Facing challenges, including the victim's skin turning purple, the rescuers persevered.
"And then at one point, he just started moving and started groaning and that's when we knew, OK, I think we're OK here," Sweeten said.
Finally, three men were able to pull him out of the snow.
Time nearly ran out
"He said, 'I don't think I could have lasted another 30 seconds.' He had already blacked out," Sweeten said.
After pulling him out, they started a fire to warm the man up, and then it took them two hours to get him safely off the mountain.
As the group was recalling what had happened Sweeten's son realized he had inadvertently captured the rescue in a video.
"When we went back home, actually with my wife and my daughters, and watched it, then it became very emotional," Sweeten said, fighting back emotion, "because there's somebody's husband, somebody's father (who almost died), and that could have been me. How would've I felt if we were just two minutes too late?"
Reflecting on the experience, Sweeten underscored the importance of preparedness in unpredictable outdoor environments.
Sweeten believes this serves as a powerful reminder of the unpredictable nature of the outdoors and the vital role preparedness plays in ensuring safety for oneself and others.
