Youth trapped for five hours 'skin against ice' in Alaska crevasse

By NBC News
A 16-year-old youth from Connecticut was trapped "skin against ice" for five hours in a crevasse on an Alaskan glacier before being rescued, according to emergency officials.

Kurt Schenher, 16, was hiking on the Worthington Glacier near Valdez with his younger brother on Saturday when he fell through a snow bridge, NBC station KTUU of Anchorage reported.
"He went about 50 feet-plus and wedged in place," George Keeney, the city's fire chief and emergency manager, told KTUU. "He was wearing sweats and (the force of it took) his clothes off him, and he was skin against ice for five hours."

Schenher's brother went to the glacier's viewing area to call for help. Three rescuers were able to rappel into the crevasse to help Schenher, KTUU reported. 
"They had to pick him up using an elbow and wrist to get him out of there -- he was wedged in," Keeney said. 

After Schenher was removed from the glacier, he was flown by helicopter to a parking lot at the glacier's viewing area. Weather conditions prevented him from being flown to Valdez, so he was taken by an ambulance.

Keeney said that Schenher was in guarded condition at Providence Valdez Medical Center, KTUU reported.

Schenher recently completed his junior year at East Catholic in Manchester, Conn., where he is involved in athletics, according to the athletic director. He was listed as being on the school football team, NBCConnecticut.com reported.

This article includes reporting by Chris Klint of NBC station KTUU in Anchorage and NBCConnecticut.com.

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