When he was finally extracted from the snowy chamber, Matthews had been buried for over 4 hours. He was transported to Tahoe Forest Hospital where he was treated for minor scrapes and bruises and checked for signs of hypothermia. Matthews was thankful for Alpine Meadow's top notch rescue crew and he said he felt fortunate to have lived through the experience. I guess it was just because the snow load was so high. Heywood agreed and said that the snow load was beyond the ski area's experience.
Life is precious.
Matthews is no stranger to dangerous occupations. In the summer he works as a commercial fisherman and a timber harvester in Alaska. I plan to go home for Christmas and rethink this. I might take a regular job. But in the same breath Matthews speaks of his love for skiing and how his father always told him to get back on the horse.