Man Survives 4 Hours Under Avalanche Thanks to Wife's App

Michael Harris thought it would be just another day skiing at Stevens Pass in Washington. Instead, he triggered an avalanche in Big Chief Bowl that buried him alive for more than four hours.

Harris tried using a swimming motion to stay above the snow as it roared down the mountain. The powerful slide won, trapping him in a small pocket beneath several feet of compacted snow. His arms were pinned. He couldn't reach his Apple Watch or the iPhone in his jacket.

Then his phone started ringing. It was his wife Penny calling, and Harris could feel the vibration against his chest. He heard every ring but couldn't move his hand even an inch to answer.

Buried in darkness with no way to signal for help, Harris began to pray. "God, I'm in trouble," he said in that snow pocket. "I don't know if anyone is going to know where I'm at, but I can't get out of this on my own."

Miles away, Penny felt something wasn't right. She opened Find My iPhone and saw her husband's location. When she checked again later, the pin hadn't moved at all. After realizing the phone had stayed in the exact same spot for hours, she called ski patrol and raced toward the mountain herself.

Rescuers used the phone's precise location to begin their search. Penny arrived at Stevens Pass preparing for the worst possible news. "I was sitting there, just waiting to find my husband, anticipating the retrieval of a body," she said.

But ski patrol made a discovery that stunned everyone. Harris was alive. A beach ball sized air pocket in front of his face had given him just enough oxygen to keep breathing for more than four hours.

Harris woke up in an ambulance with severe hypothermia, fluid in his lungs, and a broken leg. After what he'd endured, he considers those injuries a blessing. "I would not have believed this story if I hadn't lived through it myself," he said.

Hospital staff started calling him "the miracle avalanche man." His daughter, who rushed to the hospital after hearing the terrifying news, thanked God her father survived something so few people ever do.

Sunny's Take

Harris spent five days recovering in the hospital before going home to his family. He credits three things for saving his life: his wife's intuition, the technology in his pocket, and his faith. "She's the best," Harris said of Penny. "She's my lifesaver."

Now Harris says he's focused on making the most of his second chance: spending time with family, deepening his faith, and living even better than before.