Last month, two buddies were at the Palisades Ski Resort in California. They were about to take one more run before the weather turned bad. Loren Ennis and his best friend Ben Erskine knew the winds were picking up, but the lift was still open, so they thought they’d go for it.
When they reached the top, Loren and Ben dropped onto the ski run. Then, they heard people screaming from the chair lift and knew something was wrong. They soon felt the wind and snow at their heels as they were swept up in an avalanche. It felt like a million-pound blanket came over them. Once everything came to a full stop, they found themselves buried under the snow not too far from each other. Fortunately, Loren and Ben were able to dig themselves out.
After securing their freedom, they spotted two people buried just a few feet away, so they started digging as fast as they could. Loren dug out a trapped man, while Ben worked on getting a woman named Jante He free from the snow. Janet didn’t think she was going to make it out but was thankful when Ben finally pulled her out to safety. She said that when she heard Ben say, “Don’t worry; I got you,” she was so relieved.
The four skiers got down the mountain safely and Loren, Ben, and Janet even returned to ski the following day.
Learn more about this story as covered by CBS News.
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Kix’s Response:
Wow! We’re so happy to hear that these skiers survived and got back out there the next day, making sure fear didn’t take hold – getting back on the horse.
How about Loren and Ben who not only got themselves out of that snow but became like first responders for the other two skiers on that mountain? You are both our ACC Heroes of the Week!
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