Dollar bill, lighter help Houston man to safety at national park

HOUSTON, Texas (FOX 26) - A Houston man has been found in safe condition after spending Christmas Eve night in a snow cave at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Drew McCord, 32, was skiing with his two friends near Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The three men traveled around two miles down a mountain when they had realized they were lost. They then hiked uphill about half a mile until McCord was able to send out a message to his girlfriend with their location. The men slept in a snow cave and used a lighter and a dollar bill to start a fire.

The group was found the next day. Park spokesman Andrew White says the group went through a back country gate to ski and that because they were prepared, they were found.

"If anyone is going to venture outside of the ski area boundary, they need to be prepared for emergencies, be prepared for their own self rescue and be prepared to potentially spend a night or two outdoors, that means taking a space blanket, having adequate food, water, layers of clothing, a flashlight and some sort of way to start a fire which fortunately these gentlemen had," says White.

The men had to ski around nine miles back to safety once search and rescue crews found them. A helicopter was not able to be used because of the snowfall. No one was injured.