'One of the scariest moments' - 12 U.S. skiers caught in pair of B.C. avalanches

A group of childhood friends from Utah is sharing an incredible story of survival after getting caught in a pair of powerful avalanches in B.C.'s backcountry.

The 12 experienced U.S. skiers and two guides were on Mount Mackie near Rossland, B.C. on Jan. 19.

"We were out to ski some of the best terrainof our lives," said skier Creighton Green from his home in Salt Lake City.

The group wason itssecond-to-last run when something went wrong.

"We had all skied down, got halfway on the buddy system ...and as everyone came to meet up, that's when the entire bowl broke loose that was below us."

"Instantly you see everyone start to move and it starts to pick up speed," said Creighton.

"As they're sliding down in all of this snow, you're trying to keep your eye on them so you know where to start searching."

Seven skiers buried

Seven of the skiers were completely buried. The handful not covered in snow had just got out their search beacons when a second avalanche hit, but luckily no one else was trapped beneath the snow.

"That's when it went into full-blown rescue mode," he said.

"You're hoping to hear your buddies' voices yelling 'hey I'm over here, come help!' but it was really quiet."

"I think, for me, that was one of the scariest or more eerie parts."

Creighton then saw an arm sticking out of the snow along with a helmet and the frantic race to uncover his friends began.

'Where do you go first?'

"You're holding your beacon and your beacon is giving you a distance in metres and a direction, the problem is you have seven people who are sending signals," he said.

"You get one signal that says go to your left 15 metres, then it's go to your right 32 metres, go below you 40 metres. Where do you go first? That was a very scary part."

The friends and guides used visual clues along with their beacons to locate the majority of the group, but they noticed two members were still missing.

He said the two were eventually found "football fields" away from the first group further down the hill.

"One of them stayed conscious the entire time," said Creighton.

"He says he remembers his mouth just being packed with snow."

One of the guides found the last member of the groupandperformed CPR until he started breathing.

"This was definitely one of the scariest moments of all of our lives," saidCreighton.

'I thought that these guys were dead'

He said the main lesson he wants to pass along to otherbackcountryusers is to be prepared.

"You can't just read the instruction manual. Get out there, have someone bury not just one beacon, but a few beacons. Go find them, practice it, make it muscle memory."

"It's sometimes hard to think clearly in that situation, so train, have the proper equipment, know first aid."

"There were many moments that I thought that these guys were dead."

The friend from Spokane, Wash. that was found unconscious remains in intensive care, but is expected to make a full recovery.

The other skiers made it out with only broken bones and bruises.

Avalanche Canadaprovides information onlineabout avalanche tutorials and recommends that anyonegoing into the backcountry carryan avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel.

• Find an avalanche training course near you

With files from Daybreak South