12-04-2011, 09:19 PM | #1 |
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Avalanche Skier POV Helmet Cam Burial & Rescue in Haines, Alaska
So as he drops in you can also see the sluff to the skier's right immediately start building....and that's actually the chute that was the intended route down. For whatever reason - well pure, unadulterated powder will do it to you - he didn't go make some strong "skier cuts" into the upper pack to do one final snow check as instructed by the main guide who was doing the "tail gunner" work.
Instead he just sent it. And it didn't take more than a few turns out on this big shoulder above this cliff band to break loose. This was a decent sized avalanche. 1,500 feet the dude fell in a little over 20 seconds. The crown was about 1 - 1.5m. The chute that he got sucked through to the skier's right was flanked on either side by cliff bands that were about 30m tall. He luckily didn't break any bones and obviously didn't hit anything on the run out. He was only buried for 4 and a half minutes which is incredibly short. I cannot stress these next sentences enough; that in and of itself to be unburied in ONLY 4:28 is miraculous if you have any understanding of being caught in an avalanche and what it takes to be found. It could literally be some kind of "world record" just on how good the guide and supporting cast of other skiers was in getting to him. It also shows why you should ALWAYS be going with people trained in avalanche rescue / first aid....as well as why you'd want to be going with a guided heli operation. Sure this was terrifying for him, but he would've probably been dead if not for going with a guide.
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12-05-2011, 01:31 AM | #3 |
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wow, I am claustrophobic so it felt difficult to breathe when he was under the snow. Lucky guy!
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12-05-2011, 09:39 AM | #5 |
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Only reason they found him so quickly is because his glove came off and it was right above where he was buried.
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