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ERIC LEMARQUE
Titled the Miracle Man, by the National Guard that rescued him, former professional and Olympic hockey player, Eric LeMarque, miraculously survived, setting a world record, within the snow and freezing temperatures he faced for eight days and nights after a blinding storm engulfed him while snow boarding in the High Sierra Nevada Mountains. Eric, although an expert snow boarder, was going up for a final run before stopping for the day. He planned to make a fast run and be back in the hot tub in fifteen minutes as he noticed a unforecasted storm move in. However, those fifteen minutes stretched into eight days and a desperate fight for survival. Because it was to be a short day, for the first and only time ever, Eric went without his regular gear. He was not wearing his normal apparel due to the blizzard conditions earlier in the week, which had his torch lighter, 2-way radio, food and water within. Using his snowboard to dig his snow caves, he lined and covered the sleeping area by chopping down tree limbs and shearing tree bark. Three days later, after finally seeing the back of Mammoth he used his bindings on his board along with tree limbs as make shift snowshoes to hike up 4,500 vertical feet in fresh snow. Using his MP3 / FM player as a compass, he began leaving snowmen decorated with limbs as clues. Fighting off wild animals to survive, Eric managed to stay alive. On the eight day, exhausted, losing 40 pounds, with a body temperature of 86’ and near death, the National Guard in a Black Hawk helicopter honed in on Eric’s signal he had been broadcasting and rescued Eric on the summit as he was preparing to ride to safety. Suffering from extreme frostbite, Eric had both legs amputated 8” below the knee. He has made a full recovery, using his prosthetics every day. Incredibly, he walked the very first day with the new legs. One year to the day he was amputated Eric returned to playing hockey and the mountains snowboarding. His friends still have to follow him down, as this ordeal has not slowed him. Eric, who played hockey at the professional level in the United States and Europe, is a true survivor. Drafted by the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League, he played in the Olympics / World Championships during 1994 -1997 participating in the 1994 Winter Olympics held in Lillehammer, Norway. He went on to work for Easton Sports, Inc as a product developer and a hockey coach. His is a tale of survival is that of adversity, change, ingenuity, perseverance, spiritual restoration, and ultimate triumph are incredible and unique. In August 2006, he married Hope Reiner consummating their love and commitment. Eric resides and works in Los Angeles with his wife Hope and their sons Nicholas and Zach. Eric’s sites are on raising his family, volunteering, riding across America for charity, sharing his testimony with the business world and young people along with returning to the Olympics striving for gold becoming the first person in history to participate in the Olympics and Paralympics
