At 11.35pm, on 30 July 1997, 3,500 tonnes of rock and mud slid down the side of
Thredbo, a ski resort in New South Wales, taking two ski lodges with it. The landslide killed 18 people, one of whom was Diver's first wife, Sally (née Donald). After 65 hours in sub-zero temperatures with only a small blanket and jacket, Diver was finally pulled from the rubble. After the incident, Diver wrote a biography,
Survival, with journalist Simon Bouda, detailing his struggles with the experience of the disaster and the aftermath. Diver's experiences were also made into the Australian
TV movie, ''
Heroes' Mountain'', where his character was played by actor
Craig McLachlan. == Private life ==