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This is an intense watch, made worse by the fact you can hear him shouting for help… avalanches aren’t the only danger in the backcountry, and without his crew, this would’ve had a different ending. Snow suffocation is real and can happen to anyone.
The Crew saved me
I don’t want to sound overdramatic but with the homies to help me out of this mess, I may not have made it.
We always have avalanche danger on our minds when we approach the backcountry that we tend to forget the many other ways we can find ourselves in a dangerous situation. I miscalculated this step down, my skis hit the tree and I was flipped backwards and upside down into the deep snow. At first I thought I could bust out a breathing pathway with my arms. I failed in this attempt and only accomplished to burn energy and precious oxygen. I thought next, “stay calm”. I have no idea who was near me, if anyone as the boys were previously hitting a jump. So as my oxygen started getting low I said fuck the calm and thought I could try to punch through once again. This only worked to knock snow down my throat and more snow on top of me. I had snow in my lungs, making me cough and unable to breathe at all. Luckily at this point the crew had made it to me and dug me out of this hectic situation in time.
I want to post this video to serve as a reminder to use the right protocol in all situations in the backcountry. Many of us over indulge in our phones hoping to capture the next funny viral clip and forget our friends can be in peril danger. I’m so happy to see how quickly @paddygrahamput his phone down and ran to my rescue with @tomritsch and @syovanvliet without these guys quick actions I may have been an iceman and I’m so happy to be with the crew I’m with out there..
We are our brothers keepers, we love each other so we need to protect each other when we are out doing the thing we love to do. Backcountry is adherently dangerous. Getting to buried friends is not easy. So I want to reiterate to everyone to always be ready for the unforeseen and take the proper precautions while out in the powder.
