GARDEN CITY, Rich County — A Cache Valley man and his brother were snowmobiling in Franklin Basin on Christmas Eve, and then what can only be described as a “wake-up call” occurred.
Braeden Hansen said he and his brother, Hunter Hansen, who was about 150 feet up the hill, saw the snow start to ripple, and they knew they had triggered a slide.
Braeden Hansen said there were warning signs like fracture lines in the snow “but just kind of maybe overlooked those.” He later started the snow starting to ripple. “I’m like, ‘Oh no, it’s happening. You’ve always heard about avalanches and seen little ones, but it’s actually happening.”
The wall of snow swallowed Hunter Hansen up as he pulled his airbag to keep himself above the slide as much as possible. Braeden Hansen immediately started following his beacon signal over to his brother.
Hunter Hansen’s hand was wiggling around, but the clock was ticking.
Thankfully, Braeden Hansen was able to dig his brother out safely, and Hunter Hansen is back home in southern Idaho.
“It was a big eye-opener. A wake-up call,” Braeden Hansen said. “It can happen to anyone, and it’s a scary situation. So just be prepared.”
Hunter Hansen suffered a broken leg in the incident. He said he’d felt like he was on his last breath and felt “very blessed” his brother rescued him.
