Noiser
How to escape from a Glacier
Play Real Survival Stories Glacier Escape: Trapped Under the Ice
In 1992, during a climbing trip up Mount Rainier with his best friend, Jim Davidson suddenly found himself trapped deep within an ice crevasse.
What followed was a heartbreaking story of friendship and survival against the odds.
On June 21st 1992, Jim Davidson and his friend, Mike Price, were hiking through Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. They’d managed to scale the 14,410-foot Mount Rainier - the tallest peak either had ever climbed - and were making their way back down. Both were in a buoyant, celebratory mood. Jim was in the lead, gently probing the snow with his ice poles, checking for weak spots or crevasses. Suddenly, he began to sink into the snow. At first, he didn’t think it was a big deal, that his feet would simply meet firm ground a couple of inches below the powder. But they never did. Instead, Jim found himself tumbling through a pitch-black void.
I couldn't see it in the darkness, but I could feel an ice wall skimming past my gloves. I was going faster and faster. I thought, “Man, we're going to hit really hard. And then all of a sudden, boom!”
Jim Davidson
With a loud crash, Jim thudded onto the frozen floor of an icy crevasse. For a moment, all was still. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed a thin shaft of light from the hole he’d just fallen through, allowing him to check out his surroundings. He took a calming breath, trying to ignore the pain and panic bubbling in his stomach, but before he could get his bearings, Jim felt snow falling onto his face… just a little at first. Then a lot.
Something really big hit me and I was completely buried by snow. I felt a huge impact of weight on my chest, stomach and legs. And there was a pile of snow buried over my head, and everything went completely silent and completely dark, and I realised: I'm buried alive…
Jim Davidson
Jim managed to clear some of the snow from his face, creating a breathing hole. He coughed, trying to clear his airways of slush, before gulping lungfuls of air. But, the danger hadn't passed – far from it… With only a small air pocket to sustain him, he had mere minutes to avoid suffocation.
Listen to “Glacier Escape: Trapped Under the Ice” on Real Survival Stories to hear Jim Davidson recount the extraordinary story of how he managed to live to tell the tale.