In the following video, a skier equipped a POV helmet cam films what he sees as he’s getting buried under an avalanche. Fortunately, he then gets dug out by his friends fairly quickly. In case you’re in a hurry, the good part of the video starts at around 60 seconds.

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.

I don’t know about you guys, but even though I wasn’t really there, I was hyperventilating for the poor soul trapped under all that snow.

[Via Gizmodo]