A couple visiting Big Four Ice Caves got more than they bargained for on their hiking trip. An avalanche rushed towards them, leaving them just moments to outrun the cloud of ice and snow. They managed to escape unharmed, although their story should serve as a cautionary tale.
According to ABC News , the couple, Colby Dotson and his girlfriend Ashley Bechard, were visiting in Big Four Ice Caves in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. NBC reports that they were ignoring avalanche warnings to get a better look inside the caves. The hikers managed to get just a few feet away from one of the main cave entrances.
Then they saw it, an avalanche. Dotson explained it to NBC News.
“It was like a huge cloud of dust coming down and I turn around and Ashley is already, she was like maybe 30 feet running away.”
Ashley Bechard added, “I heard something that sounded like a plane. No question in my mind, I just ran. I was like, ‘that’s an avalanche.’ And I ran.”
The hikers managed not only to outrun the avalanche, they filmed it, at least as well as a person can while sprinting.
About a dozen other hikers were around when the avalanche hit. Two were in the cave itself, but everyone survived the incident with no injuries.
Dotson explained, “I would like to go again, but to keep some space between the caves and myself.”
The Snohomish County Sheriff quickly responded to the avalanche scene and reported to the public through Twitter.
2 people were inside at the time of the Avalanche. Performed self rescue & now safe. No injuries. No one else inside. Caves are all clear
— Snohomish Sheriff (@SnoCoSheriff) December 28, 2014
Once all the parties were confirmed safe, the sheriff called off the emergency response.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center , last year in the U.S., avalanches caused 35 fatalities, slightly above the 10-year average of about 28. The biggest state for avalanches is Colorado, with Washington in third.
The Big Four Ice Caves are a popular tourist attraction, with about 50,000 hikers annually. They sit on Big Four Mountain, where there is snow all year long. In the summer, snow water streams carve into the permanent snow and ice to make the caves.
As the hikers learned, the caves aren’t always safe. In 2010, an 11-year-old girl was killed there from a falling chunk of ice.
As for the couple outrunning the avalanche, their video can be seen on NBC News here .
[Image Credit: Scientif38 /Wikimedia Commons]
