>take the 4x4's out with my best friend in Idaho in March, supposed to just be a day trip
>hit solid ice on the backside of this mountain, almost went for a sleigh ride off the edge of this several hundred foot drop off
>was able to steer my vehicle into the hillside and crash land into a ditch
>buddy slid down right after me and t-boned the fuck out of me, fucked my vehicle up pretty good
>got both trucks semi recovered and ready to start limping back the way we came
>buddy slips on the ice walking to his truck and get's KO'd
>get him up after a moment and sit him in his truck, he's mumbling and can barely open his eyes
>scope his injuries and determine he needs immediate medical attention
>no cell service, so I position him in his truck, leave him and start hiking
>Hike for hours to find service, 2 nearby mountain tops with no luck
>temperature dropping quickly and starts snowing, I'm ill equipped clothing wise and I start to lose feeling in feet and arms
>never been so cold in my life, feeling a lot of pain in the back of my head, torso, and upper legs
>finally hit a random spot and was able to call EMS, almost unable to dial the number in my phone
>was told to stay on the phone for a bit but my battery died not long after so all I could do at that point was find my way back to the vehicles in the dark, make a fire and hope for the best
>they came out that night and lifted us out, I went back the next day to try retrieve the vehicles
>took several days to get both trucks out
>turns out my buddy fractured his skull, completely separating most of his eye socket from the rest of his head
>his heart stopped not too long after due to something from head injury, doctors say without help he would've died
I've since got a sat phone and a winch for the truck. Always walk down the trail if you're unsure of the conditions and never trust ice...
