The rescue and miraculous survival of Stuart Diver after 65 hours buried in freezing rubble and debris, captured the attention of a nation and proved to be a story of courage against adversity.
Stuart rebuilt his life at Thredbo, he continued to work in the ski school for many years. He commentated for the 1998 Winter Olympics for the Seven Network and wrote a book titled, Survival, which tells of his experiences and provides people with the inspiration to gain control of their lives. Survival was released by Pan Macmillan in June 1999 and its print run went to 35,000 copies within the first week. In 2002, Survival was adapted for the screen in the Ten Network’s top rating telemovie, Heroes’ Mountain. Survival also won a Gold Plaque for Best Telemovie and Silver Hugo for Best Achievement in Direction at the Chicago Film Festival.
The Ten Year Anniversary of the Thredbo Landslide was 2007 and this marked Stuart’s retirement from public life. Stuart however continues to support the Salvation Army who were instrumental in the rescue operation at Thredbo.