A trauma surgeon who fell more than 100 feet onto granite and ice between Little and Big Cottonwood canyons last December shared his recovery story at University of Utah Health on Sept. 9.

Dr. Thomas F. Higgins, chief of orthopedic trauma surgery at University of Utah Health, was backcountry skiing with his wife near Cardiff Pass on Dec. 30, 2025, when he tumbled off the pass and landed on his head. Rescuers gave him a 5% chance of survival. Some estimated the fall distance was closer to 300 feet, the Deseret News reported.

The fall happened in remote terrain familiar to Cottonwood Heights and Holladay hikers and skiers. Higgins suffered a traumatic brain injury, multiple broken bones and had some of his teeth knocked out. His face was described as "split in half." His wife found help after the accident.

About 20 rescuers responded, including ski patrol from a nearby resort, Salt Lake County search and rescue, the Utah Department of Public Safety and Intermountain Life Flight. Flight paramedic Hal Van Meeteren intubated Higgins at the scene, threading a breathing tube past severe facial injuries. Higgins later called that "quite a trick." Van Meeteren estimated the rescue took about an hour before Higgins was hoisted into a helicopter and flown to University of Utah Health, where he had worked for more than 20 years.

On Christmas Day 2025, it had been raining at 11,000 feet in the area. When Higgins and his wife went out days later, they did not realize how much ice they would find.

Higgins spent about two months in intensive care. He does not remember the first five weeks. At 59, he had to relearn how to walk. He now uses a cane because his brain and legs do not coordinate properly after the traumatic brain injury.

He continues daily rehabilitation and hand therapy. His right hand still works well, he said, but his left hand's sensation is not normal. Whether he can return to surgery remains uncertain.

"I have to wait and rehab my butt off," Higgins said when asked about his future in the operating room.

At the Sept. 9 news conference, Higgins met and hugged Van Meeteren and flight nurse Sarah Anderson for the first time since the rescue. He said the experience changed how he thinks about patient care. Instead of laying out every negative possibility for patients, he now plans to embrace what he called "relentless positivity." After 26 years as a surgeon, he said he realized he must also care for the family members gathered around a patient's bed.

Janet Cortez, a nurse who has worked with Higgins for years, said his sense of humor has helped his healing.

The news conference marked University of Utah Health's 25th anniversary as Utah's first trauma center verified by the American College of Surgeons. It is one of three Level I trauma centers in the state. The center has treated about 50,000 patients since opening in 2001, growing from 875 patients in its first year to between 2,500 and 2,800 per year now. Dr. Toby M. Enniss, trauma medical director, said the center serves the largest geographic catchment area in the contiguous United States, drawing patients from Utah and seven other states, KSL reported.

Higgins described his recovery as a race. He does not know where the finish line is.