The teenager spent 30 hours in a snow cave, but his alarm clock saved him. And the love of loved ones became a weapon from the cold

A resident of the California city of Fresno – Nicholas Stacy-Alcantara – for the January holidays decided to stay with an ex-girlfriend in Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah. According to NBC News, due to favorable weather, the 17-year-old American went for a walk in the snowy mountains.

I love hiking. It’s kind of like a cleansing for my mind. With him, Nicholas took a briefcase with sandwiches, a bottle of water, and a telephone. The guy planned to return for dinner that day, ordered a taxi, and drove to the mountains east of the capital of Utah.

As soon as Nicholas was left alone in the mountains, the weather turned bad: heavy snow began to fall, and the teenager was at the epicenter of a small storm. In addition, the route on his phone went astray, mobile communication was unavailable, and the guy’s legs began to slowly freeze.

At that moment, Nicholas realized that he needed to find a protected place – it turned out to be a small space under a tree. There, Stacey-Alcantara built a snow cave as some kind of shelter from a blizzard.

At the same time, his ex-girlfriend and her mother began to worry that the guy did not come to dinner. They called the police to report the incident. Nicholas himself began to lose hope of salvation.

I am a 17-year-old teenager with no experience of surviving in such situations. I’m from Fresno – this city just doesn’t get such low temperatures.

But Nicholas’s incentive to survive was not an invaluable experience, but a wrist bracelet that his ex-girlfriend gave him at the beginning of their relationship. As Stacey-Alcantara noted, this reminded him of loved ones who always took care of him.

In addition, ingenuity also helped the young man: on the phone, he set alarms for every half hour to keep himself awake all night. After sunrise, Nicholas left his snowy shelter and went to seek help. He came across hikers with a satellite phone, and they quickly called the teen for help.

I just told them, “Please. Please, I just need help. I’m stuck here.”

Nicholas came out to the emergency service without shoes: because of the low temperatures, they turned into icy stones. After finding Stacey-Alcantara, he was flown by helicopter to the University of Utah. Doctors restored the guy’s legs from the effects of frostbite. According to doctors, amputation of the lower extremities is still possible.

Hiking alone in the mountains of Utah in winter is very risky. The only sensible thing he did was let people know where he was going. If he hadn’t, it might have been years before anyone stumbled upon his body.
I know people are adventurous in Utah, but there are vast areas in this state that don’t have cell phone coverage, even near cities.
I’m very glad he’s alive.

Like this post? Please share to your friends:
NEWS-№1