MILLCREEK, Utah (KSTU)— Travis Haussener is thankful to be alive.

Last week, he was backcountry skiing in Utah on what he thought was stable snow when he suddenly realized he was in danger.

“I heard the big 'wumpf,' felt like the ground shake, and then all of a sudden there's this wall of snow coming down on me that envelops me," said Haussener. "And then I thought, that was it. I thought, you know, my life was over.”

Using his one free arm, Haussener desperately tried digging himself out.

“In between digs, I started yelling for help," he said. "In, you know, the hopes of some miracle.”

Miraculously, an off-duty Unified Fire EMT heard his cries and called in search and rescue teams.

“I was [like], you know, 'Guys, you gotta get me down or I'm gonna die up here,'" said Haussener.

It took eight hours to get Haussener off the mountain.

Nursing a hole in his lung, broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder, Haussener wishes he had paid more attention to the snow.

“I want to keep being in the mountains, keep doing what I love," he said. "I'll be maybe a little bit more careful next time."

This story was originally reported by Jenna Bree on fox13now.com.

An organization called Ski for Light made 99-year-old Edyth Warne's life-long dream of skiing come true.

Warne decided to knock some items off of her bucket list before her big 100th birthday and so she decided to go snow skiing as a camera from KOTA followed the action in the mountains near Rapid City, South Dakota.

Her grandson said that she has faced physical disabilities all of her life.

"This isn't something she's been able to do," Edyth's grandson Austin Pearce said as they prepared to go down the slopes in North Dakota.

Members from Ski for Light made sure that Edyth was secure in a sled before skiing down the snowy mountain, assisting her. They ended up going not just once, but three times as Edyth yelled, “This was wonderful...I think everybody should do it. Even though it’s real bumpy."

Ski for Light is a non-profit group that was founded in 1975. And according to the organization, they work to provide opportunities for mobility and visually impaired to go out and experience cross-country skiing, and in Edyth's case, downhill snow skiing as well.

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... to go on a festive holiday trip! Whether you're returning to your family's annual holiday traditions or looking for new and exciting ways to celebrate after a long year, there are a ton of unique options for planning a magical and safe Christmas getaway full of festive cheer, beautiful scenery and fun holiday events. Some say there's no place like home for the holidays — but what could be better than spending Christmas at a chocolate theme park, a ski resort or even a town called Santa Claus?

Related video above: The pros and cons of using a travel agent

To help you have the merriest holiday season yet, we've rounded up some of the best places to spend Christmas in the U.S., from fun family resorts and towns named after Christmas itself to festive gatherings held just for the holiday season. Like last year, you'll of course want to make sure you're following safe travel guidelines — and luckily, plenty of destinations are still offering special holiday events focusing on outdoor activities such as drive-thru light displays, sleigh rides and more. So whether you're looking for palm trees and sunny shores or want to cozy up in a snowy cabin, make sure to check out these festive family vacation spots for the best Christmas getaways in 2021.

For more Christmas ideas, check out the Good Housekeeping 2021 Holiday Guide for holiday decor ideas, Christmas games and activities, holiday recipes and popular gift ideas.

BARCELONA -- For adventure-seekers and travelers, the pandemic has put a damper on outdoor excursions. But for one filmmaker in Barcelona, a canceled family ski trip turned into an opportunity to bring adventure home to his living room.

Philipp Klein Herrero is fanatical about skiing.

“I am always skiing,” he said. “It's my passion.”

So, when the pandemic lockdown forced him to cancel a long-planned family ski trip to France, the filmmaker decided to create a video for them.

“I wanted to send them love from where I am and that's how the idea came about.”

He taped a GoPro to his ceiling and cleared the room, bringing to life the adventure of a lifetime – on his living room floor.

“It starts with me waking up on the side of the mountain in my sleeping bag and having my skis right next to me,” he said. “Once, it gets too steep to walk I switch into ice-climbing mode.”

Over the next six and a half hours Klein painstakingly captured this stop-motion odyssey – one frame at a time. He used bed sheets for the side of the mountain.

“And of course, nowadays the first thing you do when you reach the summit is you cheer and then take some selfies,” he said.

The 57 second film has gone viral, making international headlines.

“It just went absolutely crazy from there on,” he said.

Klein says his only true desire was to spread a message of hope, inspiring others in challenging times.

When asked what the most important thing that he wants people to take away from watching his video, he said that we all have to stay positive.

“We have a tricky situation among us, and we literally don’t know how it’s going to end up, but it’s within us to make the best out of it.”

He’s proving adventure can be found just about anywhere.

The future of the Summer Olympics is still up in the air, and could indicate the future of the 2022 Games in Beijing.

Even with all the restrictions and obstacles, athletes are pushing forward and finding ways to train.

“I started skiing on the World Cup Tour when I was 15 years old, and made the Olympics when I was 17. Now, I’m here training for the 2022 games in Beijing,” Tess Johnson, Olympic mogul skier with the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, said. “We dedicate our lives to this sport. We eat, sleep, breathe mogul skiing and that's what we have to do to be the best.”

Opportunities to train and compete have become less frequent. On this day, mogul skiers on the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team were practicing on what they call an on-snow training day in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

“Our goal is to just continue training until we just don't train anymore here on the snow in North America,” Matt Gnoza, the U.S. Mogul Team Head Coach for U.S. Ski and Snowboard, said.

The pandemic has changed how they are able to train.

“We’re used to skiing 12 months a year. From March 2020 to December, for eight months, we didn't have any access to a full length mogul course for our training,” Gnoza said. “We had a schedule going into the year of 12 World Cup events. At this point in time as we approach February, we've had three of the 12. We've seen a large number of events canceled because of COVID and because of travel restrictions.”

Now the team operates in a bubble -- traveling where they can, when they can to get as much practice as possible without interacting with others outside the bubble. It's similar to how the NBA operated its basketball season in 2020.

“When we bubble in to a training camp or bubble in to a competition, we bubble in as a team and we become really dependent on one another in those bubbles,” Gnoza said.

“We can’t go to gyms, we can't go anywhere in public. And that strength training is a huge piece of our careers. It’s how we stay strong, it’s how we avoid injury,” Johnson said. Instead of gyms, it’s garages, outdoor spaces, and using things around you to get in training.

“We bring bands, TRXs, sometimes we bring weights and plates which is very heavy,” Johnson explained. “One of my teammates and I are using towels to pull up and try and get some resistance.”

Training this year has been different for these young athletes.

“This past year especially was difficult to find the motivation and keep going when so many things were getting canceled. It's just part of it though. It’s part of any passion,” she said.

Johnson started competing at 9 years old. Participating in the Olympics has been her dream since she was a young teenager.

For now, these winter athletes are training day in and day out, looking at the future of the Summer Olympics this year to indicate whether or not their competitions will take place.

“We’re looking at our Olympic friends in the Summer Games and hoping for them that the games do happen in the summer of 2021 in Tokyo. That would be a really positive sign for Beijing in 2022,” Gnoza said.

“As long as it happens and we get that opportunity to ski in another Olympics, I’ll be a happy girl,” Johnson said.