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Show " The car was tossed up as though it were a juggler's ball, turning over and over. We were thrown from the top to the bottom and from the bottom to the top. The coach seemed to strike something and burst open like an eggshell." " The sleeper soared upward. It struck another object and seemed to veer and whirl. Then it began to fall down.... down... until it landed with a jolt that rendered me senseless. When I recovered, I was lying face down and a heavy object pressed into my back, pinning me so I could not move. The nightmare of pain began as the weight kept increasing steadily. I was sometimes conscious, often unconscious, yet always aware of the back- breaking weight as it settled heavier - increasing the suffering. I had no sense of time - only that eternities of agony had passed. Then, with dazed disbelief, I heard voices and the clink of shovels above me. Summoning all my courage, I called a weak and feeble ' help'." After 11 hours in an icy tomb, this victim was rescued. The town of Wellington had been spared, but the avalanche had cut a swath 1400 feet wide and over 2000 feet long. Rescuers found only one end of a coach, the side and blades of a rotary plow, and the roof of a shack exposed on the surface. All else was buried in a white grave. The men worked desperately in the wind driven rain. This precipitation made the threat of additional avalanches a real hazard, and packed the snow from the avalanche even harder, making digging more difficult. The grisly rescue continued, yielding an occasional survivor as well as many bodies. After six hours, 14 people had been found alive. Suddenly the rescuers heard new cries, and found three more railroad men alive. Around 0830, seven hours after the accident, a shovel crew heard faint tapping noises and uncovered the end of a popped- open mail car. Four more railroad men were found only slightly injured in a corner that had not been crushed. As they continued digging, they uncovered only twisted wreckage and bodies Eleven hours had passed since the fatal avalanche, and all hope had been given up of finding anyone alive. Around 1230 hours, as some of the men paused to rest, they heard a faint sound, almost like the mew of a kitten. Digging down they found a large tree trunk, and under it was a woman, just barely alive. This was the last of the survivors, 22 in all. The main rescue party from Scenic arrived around 1300 hours. It took until 8 or 9 March to recover the remainder of the bodies. During the spring melt, one more body was found, bringing the final death toll to 96 - the largest avalanche tragedy in the United States. The record still holds. |