Garth Frandsen is one of the most avid snowmobilers in the area. Actually the entire Frandsen family is pretty avid, including in-laws like Carbon County Commissioner Casey Hopes. Hopes is married to Garth’s sister Jana.
Sitting down with Garth took me back to the time we did an avalanche workshop together. The Utah Avalanche Center put on the two-day snowmobile-based event and gave Carbon Recreation a few spots in the class. At the time I was director of the Recreation agency. Since I didn’t own a snowmobile, the first thing I did was contact the Frandsens. It wasn’t hard to arrange use of one of their sleds. The Frandsens own several and are big supporters of avalanche safety.
Father Neil wanted his sons and son-in-law to be involved. There is good reason. Garth was an avalanche victim. While buried beneath his snowmobile, Garth thought he was going to die. He nearly did.
But he didn’t. Those in the group dug him out. He admits he is a lucky man. He doesn’t want it to happen again. So, he gets training whenever possible and looks at the terrain more critically than he did before the incident.
Right now avalanches aren’t a huge concern, simply because there isn’t much snow. Conditions are much the way they were in 1999 when Garth was buried. There wasn’t much snow, then a huge snow storm dumped a foot and a half overnight. Conditions were perfect for an avalanche. Wind and sun caused the original snow to lose all integrity. It became crystallized, like “sugar.” The weight of the new snow was like putting a rolling pin on a bed of marbles. Something had to give.
Garth was “high-pointing,” meaning he was attempting to go further up a slope than the rider before him. As he attempted to turn around to come down the back end of the snowmobile collapsed. That’s not unusual, but when he got off the snowmobile to attempt to get it out of the deep snow he was caught in a small slide that covered him to the waist. As he attempted to extricate himself a massive slide hit him. As a former employee of Snowbird Ski Resort he knew to swim. In other words, attempt to stay on top of the moving snow.
After a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity, he came to a stop. He was in the process of putting his hands in front of the visor on his helmet to keep snow out when everything just stopped. He was frozen in place. The snow was like cement. The chin strap on his helmet was choking him. He was out of ideas. He knew he now had to just settle down and conserve oxygen and hope someone would dig him out.
Fortunately, there were several other people nearby, who immediately came to help, including the person he was riding with, Steve Wilstead. The snowmobile had come to rest on top of Garth. A ski was protruding a few inches above the snow. The problem became where to dig. Wilstead was insistent everyone dig around the snowmobile. It’s lucky they did. They had no equipment, so they used their face masks and even tore the windshields off their machines. They dug without gloves in order to use their fingernails. It wasn’t long before they hit Garth’s helmet and after 10 or 15 minutes had his face uncovered. He couldn’t talk, but motioned to his chin strap. Once that was loosened he gasped for air.
Garth wasn’t able to move or talk. He was dazed, but physically seemed okay. By this time Neil was at the scene. He took Garth on his machine, because Garth was unable to ride a snowmobile. After 30 to 45 minutes they were back at the trailhead and on their way to the hospital.
Everything turned out okay for Garth, although he was plagued by nightmares for a year. In the dream he knew there was going to be an avalanche, but somehow couldn’t convey that to the others in the group.
Garth now wears a beacon and only rides with others who do. They all carry shovels and probes. Some 19 years later Garth says he only hopes his story keeps someone else from the same fate.
Avalanche: One man’s experience
Avalanche: One man’s experience