Local man saved in Alaska hopes to repay rescuers

A local man is raising money for people in a small Alaskan town, after he was saved by its search and rescue team just weeks ago.

Randy Gravatt, of Island Park, was competing in Alaska’s Iron Dog Race. It’s a 2,100-mile snowmobile race through some of Alaska’s toughest terrain.

Gravatt and his teammate were snowmobiling across ice on a lagoon at 8 a.m in the dark, when they hit a patch of ice. Moving 95 miles-per-hour, Gravatt says he and his teammate drove across 1 mile of open water when they realized they were in trouble.

In 10 degree weather, both of their sleds sank in about four feet of water.

“We were literally carrying our bags, our dry bags are what they’re called, above the water line and trying to keep our gloves dry,” Gravatt said. “Ten-inch waves were just literally hitting us in the chest, because the wind was coming off the Bering Sea.”

The duo found ice and walked two miles in frozen clothes. A woman in the small town of Golovin four miles away saw them through a pair of binoculars. A search team then came to their rescue.

Gravatt says he now wants to help the rural town with a fundraiser Thursday night at Connie’s Restaurant in Island Park. The event goes from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

“People are going to donate hats, socks, gloves, boots, snowmobile bibs, snowmobile jackets and maybe some goggles,” said Gravatt. “We noticed a lot of the people who rescued us didn’t have goggles.”

Gravatt and his teammate were scratched from the race, but they did get the snowmobiles back and running.

Gravatt, an experienced snowmobile racer, said he actually shares a Guinness World Record with his friend, Joe Williams. They both traveled the most miles on a snowmobile in 24 hours. In 1998 the duo covered 1,289 miles.

Connie’s is located at:
4130 Quakie Lane
Island Park, Idaho 83429