Avalanche Survivor Attempted To Save Brother, Spent 2 Nights In Snow Cave
JACKSON COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - An avalanche buried two brothers from Fort Collins in Northern Colorado over the weekend and only one of them made it out alive.
The brothers, Tyler and Jordan Lundstedt, were said to be experienced snowmobilers. Search crews were able to find Jordan Lundstedt by cellphone.
The cellphone is how Jordan Lundstedt, 21, let rescuers know what happened. Then rescue crews were able to get some signals off the phone to lead them to the area where the avalanche killed 24-year-old Tyler Lundstedt.
The slide happened near Buffalo Pass east of Steamboat Springs in Jackson County.
Jordan Lundstedt spent two freezing nights in a snow cave before using a silver survival blanket to signal a search helicopter.
The Air National Guard helicopter that spotted the avalanche survivor couldn't land in the steep terrain, so the pilot guided in ground crews.
The brothers' father was the first to reach the site late Monday.
On Tuesday Jackson County Sheriff Scott Fischer told CBS4's Mike Hooker the brothers got stuck while snowmobiling in an area called Chedsey Creek and were trying to walk out in the dark when the snow started to slide.
"The brother that survived was above the brother that was below," Fischer said. "The brother that survived was half-buried and he dug himself out. They both were wearing avalanche beacons, so the brother knew where his other brother was and found him and dug him out as soon as possible."
Fischer said Jordan Lundstedt found his brother wasn't alive when he dug him out.
Jordan Lundstedt was airlifted to North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley because that's where Northern Colorado's burn center is and frost bite is treated as a burn. The hospital says he is in good condition.
That avalanche death in Jackson County is one of four in Colorado in the last week.
RELATED STORY: 4 People Die In Colorado Avalanches This Winter
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