Despite multiple injuries, a central Wisconsin man is expected to fully recover after being buried by a rockslide while mountain climbing in Wyoming.
On August 27, Phil White of Spencer was climbing one of the Grand Tetons with two friends when they heard a roar.
“My two buddies Kevin and Dave ran to the right, I ran to the left,” says White. “The next thing I know I was under the rocks.”
When Kevin Nowack and Dave Williamson found their friend, they couldn't believe their eyes.
“As the rocks piled up around my head, I was able to pull some of those off with my hands,” says Spencer. “But pretty much it was just the top of my head and my hands sticking out.”
Then, Phil White looked down: “My feet and legs weren't pointing in the directions they should have been pointing.”
The 54-year-old Spencer man suffered a compound fracture of the left femur, a compound fibula fracture, a broken ulna, a separated shoulder and head lacerations. The tip of one finger was amputated.
Phil White says he was lucky: “The surgeons are saying that I should make a complete recovery.”
After being airlifted to a hospital in Idaho, and weeks of rehab in Marshfield, White is back home and can't wait to get out again. “I definitely will be back outdoors and enjoying the outdoor activity – maybe a little closer to home here.”
White says he's promised his wife Cheryl that his mountain climbing days are over.
