Video: Boys rescued from ice cave in hospital

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SEATTLE - Family members say it will be 6 to 12 months before the two boys buried under a collapsed snow and ice cave Thursday will be able to hike, ski and play football again.

Alec Corbett, 17, and Allesandro Gelmini, 14, underwent surgery for broken backs at Harborview Medical Center Friday after spending 5 hours trapped underneath the snow and ice.

Alec’s uncle, Tom Skepetaris, says neither boy has any spinal injuries. Allesandro does have some other severe injuries including fractures to both legs, his shoulder and face. Alec also fractured his ankle.

The teens were hiking with their mothers and their sisters 2 miles up a trail in the Denny Creek area, in the Cascade Range 50 miles east of Seattle, when the boys wandered into the mouth of the ice cave just before 1:30 p.m. Thursday. With a deafening crack, a 50-foot swath of the cave's roof crashed down on them.

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Relatives snapped this photo of Alec Corbett, left, and Allesandro Gelmini moments before the ice cave they were in collapsed on top of them on Thursday, August 21, 2008.

“The boys said it was a snap and then they felt themselves get hit in the head and then they were in pitch dark and face down in a stream,” said Brian Corbett, Alec’s father.

The boys, both students at Seattle’s Blanchet High School, were barely able to breathe or move under the crush of snow and ice, but Brian said they tried to keep each other awake and alert.

“Alessandro grabbed his foot and they held hands and talked about school and tried to keep each other calm,” said Brian.

He says the boys spent a majority of the time resting their heads near their feet. They had trouble breathing because of a small stream splashing them in the face.

911 calls released Friday reveal family members who witnessed the collapse had a hard time keeping calm.

Joni Corbett (Alec’s mother): “I think I might go in there myself.

Operator: “Joni, no. Don’t go in there.”

The calls alerted rescuers who came armed with chainsaws and axes and carved up an intimidating amount of snow and ice to free the boys.

"It's a miracle. No other way to look at it. I thought he was gone yesterday,” said Brian.

Several hikers who were in the area rushed to help. Marilyn Pyke, of Graham, was leading a youth group outing; she said she and others tried to use sticks to chisel away at the ice, but stopped after realizing how unstable the snow was.

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The snow bridge over Denny Creek collapsed, trapping the two teens under large chunks of snow and ice.

According to Eastside Fire and Rescue Lt. Dean deAlteriis, as rescuers headed to the scene "one guy said, 'Hey, let's take a chainsaw."' The idea was that they might need it to cut trees for purposes of shoring up a wall of the ice cave or a trench.

Instead, they wound up using it to cut away the cubes of ice. Gelmini, reached first, was under six to seven feet of ice. Corbett was at least that deep, if not more, deAlteriis said. They spent more than five hours "pancaked" by the ice.

"Without that chainsaw, different story," he said, shaking his head.

The ice cave was in a ravine bordered by sheer rock walls on either side. The ravine had filled with snow, and a small creek, or cascade of melted snow, had carved out a cave, with a roof of compacted snow and ice. The boys were several yards inside the mouth of the cave when it collapsed.

When rescuers arrived, the boys' mothers and sisters pointed them to the area where they had last seen the two. After slicing away enough ice, they could hear the boys yelling.

Draped in a blue blanket, the yellow shoelaces of her hiking boots coming untied, Corbett's mother, Joni, spoke with reporters after both boys had been rescued. She said she was ecstatic, but she didn't want to talk about the details.

Alec’s family released this statement Friday:

“We would like to thank all of the volunteers who participated in the search and rescue efforts for Alec and his friend, Alessandro. Our thanks go out to volunteer and other search and rescue workers, fire fighters, medics, chaplains and others who risked their lives helping our son. We would like to recognize Marilyn and Chris Pyke, Joni Baker, Tyson Goeppinger and Matt Miller for their help in the search and rescue efforts.”

Allesandro’s family also released a statement:

“In addition to what the Corbett family mentioned, we extend our thanks for prayers and support being sent our way. God is good, and we have our boys back.”