Alaskan Snowmobilers Dig Out Moose Caught in Avalanche

A moose in Alaska has three snowmobilers to thank for making it to the New Year. 

On December 28, Marty Mobley, Rob Uphus and Avery Vunichich were snowmobiling at Hatcher Pass, about 55 miles northeast of Anchorage when they passed a small bowl, covered in both ski and moose tracks. When they came back an hour later, they saw an avalanche had covered the tracks.

The men saw a snout sticking up through the snow, and heard noises coming from the area. They immediately grabbed their shovels and headed over to start digging.

“It looked like a guy’s arm at first because we were expecting to see a skier,” Mobley said in an interview with Alaska Dispatch News. “But it was moaning and groaning and moving and we realized it was a moose, even though only his ears and some of its snout was sticking out of the snow.”

The moose remained still and calm while the men worked, two digging while the other watched for avalanches. After ten minutes, the moose was able to stand and appeared uninjured. He shook off the snow, looked at his rescuers, and ran down the mountain “at full steam”. 

“I am an animal lover, and I couldn’t leave it there,” Mobley said. “Besides, we deal with a lot of avalanches and a lot of snow. That kind of karma is something we don’t pass up.”