A Virginia Military Institute student was among four young men out skiing in Switzerland during the winter break when they witnessed an avalanche and helped save everyone who was trapped.
Second-year VMI student, Erik Gottmann was enjoying time with his family in the Swiss Alps last month.
Gottmann, his brothers, and a family friend were on an outing when an avalanche started and buried nearly a dozen people on the slopes. They immediately grabbed their phones and started recording video.
"I've never seen anything like that in my life," Gottman said.
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Soon after, Gottmann and his family leaped into action to do what they could to help.
The four young men skied to the location and saw about a dozen people scattered.
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"One of them was laying horizontally in the snow buried up to his neck," Gottman said. "He was the first person we thought we should dig out the of the snow and make sure he's at least alive."
The young men didn't stop there. They continued to help others buried in the snow, even after rescue teams arrived.
"[We were] making sure the people involved were ok, asking if, you know, 'where they are,' 'is everything alright?'"
Surprisingly, their video helped first responders locate and save everyone trapped in the snow.
"It felt good knowing that there was something we could do to try and dig people out of the snow to help and be influential in the saving effort," Gottman said. "When we got back to the town we stayed in called Steuben, they rang the church bells to signify that everybody survived the avalanche."
The VMI student and now hero has a Christmas story of a lifetime to share.
"It's a Christmas we'll never forget," Gottman said.
Holley Ford contributed to this report.
