The Bible mentions a number of miracles in both the Old and New Testaments. Whether it’s the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus, Daniel surviving in the lion’s den, or Jesus walking on the water in Matthew, the Bible is full of examples where God intervened. However, one modern example of a miracle involved a man skiing in Utah in December.
The man, 35-year-old Travis Haussener, was cross-country skiing in the western state when things quickly turned sour.
“All of a sudden this whole slope came crashing down and there was just this wall of snow coming at me at, you know, 40, 50 miles an hour,” Travis said from a hospital bed.
Immediately upon seeing the wall of snow heading his way, Travis understood that his life might as well be over.
“And then I thought, that was it. I thought, you know, my life was over,” Travis said.
Avalanche leaves man buried in snow up to his chest
The avalanche left Travis buried in chest-deep snow. Realizing the dire nature of his situation, Travis began yelling for help as he started to climb out of the snow with his one free arm.
Then a miracle happened.
Tom Elbrecht, an off-duty firefighter, was skiing in the area and heard cries for help. Initially, however, Tom questioned what he was hearing, believing that Travis’s distressed calls were something else entirely.
“I started hearing what I thought was an animal, or potentially just two skiers talking to each other,” Tom said.
Tom, however, ignored these thoughts and followed the sound to where he found Travis buried in the snow. He quickly called 911 and assessed that Travis had likely sustained a fractured femur. Tom, trying to keep Travis’s body temperature up, removed his shirt and pants, handing Travis his extra layers of clothing.
Finally, after nearly 8 hours buried under snow, first responders were able to free Travis. Tom stayed by Travis’s side throughout the test.
If you thought being buried under snow for 8 hours would force Travis to stop skiing forever, think again.
“I’m super thankful for all the people that, you know, got me out of there, but, you know, it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t want to go skiing again,” Travis said.
“You are the God who works wonders. You have made your strength known among the peoples.”
VIDEO: Man rescued after avalanche left him buried in snow