Avalanche survivor: 'It was over before I even knew it'
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J.D. Settle
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OREM, Utah (CNN) -- Three snowboarders were killed Friday in an avalanche near Orem, Utah, buried in snow as deep as 35 feet. Only one of the bodies, that of Mike Hebert, has been recovered.
J.D. Settle, one of the two snowboarders who survived the avalanche, spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper Tuesday.
COOPER: Take us back to that day, you're on the slope, you were snowboarding. You heard rumbling. Then what happened?
SETTLE: Actually, we saw it before we could hear it. It -- the snow that caused the avalanche came from the ridge above us. And you could see the snow, and then it's about, I don't know, 100, 150 foot drop and the snow just dropped down into our chute. And [we] didn't even have a chance to make five steps before all that snow was right on top of us.
COOPER: Were you able to call out at all? You say you ran just five steps.
SETTLE: No, not really. Just as soon as that snow hit, I just -- instinct, I knew that I had to get my hands up to my face, to get an air pocket. Then just ride that snow all the way down and hope for the best after you're buried. And I was able to dig myself out.
COOPER: So you run five steps, you're hit by this tidal wave of snow. And I mean, did you -- how far did it take you?
SETTLE: The first avalanche that I got caught in took me about 300 to 400 yards down the mountain. And then I dug myself out and started searching for my friends. And I ran over to the trees and had broke off a branch for a probing pole. And I'd started searching for them. And then I got hit by a second avalanche. And that one took me all the way to the bottom.
COOPER: And how much were you buried in that second avalanche that hit?
SETTLE: The first one I was buried about three and a half feet down. In the second one, I didn't have but 10 inches on top of me, but it was just wetter snow. It was so much more compact that I couldn't dig it out anymore. And I got an air pocket and I managed to be able to get the top of my head out of the snow. And then two other people that were up there on the mountain after a while of being trapped in the snow had come to my rescue and dug me out.
COOPER: You know, sometimes people talk about the stuff sort of feeling like it's in slow motion. Did it feel that way? Or did it happen just in the blink of an eye?
SETTLE: Oh, no, it happens really fast. I mean, I've seen the snow, and then it was there just like that. Then the second one, I didn't even know was coming. And it was over before I even knew it.
