Rescue of Kell Morris (in brown hat) Credit: Jason Harrington / Seward Fire Department – released

Rescuers described it as an avalanche of boulders—and Kell Morris was lucky to have survived it.

The 61-year-old was hiking with his wife in the Alaskan wilderness south of Anchorage last month, when a single step sent a succession of rocks crashing down the terrain.

Morris fell with them and, when he landed, he was pinned face down in an icy creek by a 700-pound boulder.

“It all came loose… and I was sliding with it,” Morris told KTUU News in Alaska. “Then it was a blur. I went tumbling. ”

“I could hear the noise that large rocks make as they’re rolling over each other. I landed face-down in the river, and then I felt the rock hit me in the back and pin me down.”

Morris’s left leg and hip were pinned tightly to the rocks, but his shoulders were still above the frigid water. Other rocks kept him from getting flattened by the huge boulder, so he still had a chance.

His wife, Joanna Roop, a retired Alaska State Trooper, immediately sprung into action, running to find a cell phone signal about 300 yards away to call 911—and emergency crews used GPS coordinates to organize a rescue attempt.

Fortunately, volunteer firefighter Sam Paperman happened to be working his tourism job in a nearby helicopter and diverted to the scene after the rescue call came in. More responders arrived a few moments later—and they were just in time.

The water level continued to rise in the creek, which was fed by glacier ice fields. Morris’s speech was slurring and he was fading in and out of consciousness as hypothermia set in. His wife continued to hold his head above water.

Emergency crews inflated two airbags typically used for vehicle extractions to help lift the boulder off of Morris, according to a media statement from the Seward Fire Department.

And then, it was time for teamwork.

“It just became an all-hands, brute force of ‘One, two, three, push,’” Seward Fire Chief Clinton Crites said in a quote from CBS News.

“Seven guys were able to lift it enough to pull the victim out.”

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Morris spent two days in a hospital for observation, but thanks to the quick actions of his wife, a whole bunch of good fortune, and the efforts of dedicated rescue workers, he pretty much walked away from the 700-pound boulder battle relatively unscathed.

“Every star was aligned,” said Chief Crites, citing the good weather, number of rescuers, cellular service, and the private helicopter tour company that was willing to help.

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“You couldn’t have made the stars align any better for this guy.”

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