Man who narrowly survived bear attack in freezing cold Alaskan mountains recalls the one thing he did that saved his life
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe
A snowboarder who found himself being mauled by a brown bear in the Alaskan wilderness has recalled one action he took which he believes saved his life.
It was February 2021 when Bart Pieciul set out with two of his friends to go skiing and snowboarding near Haines, Alaska, with the trio having no idea just how terrifying their adventurous day would turn out to be.
At one point during the trip, the group unknowingly ventured over a bear's den - causing the bear to stir as it made sure its cubs were safe.
Initially, Bart - who was 38 at the time - thought he spotted a porcupine against the snow, but as the shape grew rapidly larger, he realized he was actually looking at a fast-approaching bear.
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Bart sought to make himself look big and spoke sternly at the bear in an effort to scare it away, but the creature kept on its war path and charged straight for Bart, sinking its teeth into his wrist.
The bear continued its attack by shaking Bart like a rag doll, and the snowboarder was mindful enough to know that the bear probably wanted him dead. With that in mind, he decided to try and give the bear what it wanted. He played dead.
Somehow, Bart managed to stay quiet as the bear continued to maul him, biting his neck, hip, arm and butt.
Thankfully, his plan worked as the bear eventually ran off, apparently satisfied with its job, but leaving Bart still breathing.
Bart's story is detailed in an episode of Wondery's Against The Odds podcast, where one of his friends is described as catching up with Bart and finding him curled up into a ball, with blood seeping into the snow from puncture wounds in his skin.
Bart's left wrist was the most badly injured part of his body, with the bone poking through the skin.
The snowboarder was still conscious, but he knew the attack was brutal and told his friends where to find his password to his computer, as well as his social security number and his mom's phone number in case he didn't make it.
"Tell my mom I love her," Bart said.
One of Bart's friends had packed a satellite device that was able to send a GPS coordinate to emergency crews, but the group were still hours away from any help, with the nearest coastguard helicopter sitting 150 miles away.
For the next few hours, the group fought to stay warm with the help of a mylar blanket, which they'd packed, as well as a makeshift fire.
Thankfully, they did eventually hear the sound of a helicopter, which rescued them from the mountain and transported Bart to undergo emergency surgery.
Incredibly, he regained full use of his hand and was back out in the wilderness within months.