A Colorado backcountry skier survived an avalanche that he accidentally triggered on Saturday and captured the whole thing on his helmet-mounted camera.
Lance Light, the skier depicted in the video above, told Denver's CBS4 that he and a friend were backcountry skiing at Colorado's Berthoud Pass, a mountain pass in the Colorado Rockies about an hour outside of Denver. Light told the news station that he is an experienced skier and that he had the proper gear, but that he knows he should have avoided the run.
“Maybe I was in a little bit more of a risky zone, obviously, but it just shows that a lot of things can slide with not a lot impact on them and they can go big right now,” Light said to CBS4.
Light told KDVR that the avalanche occurred on the west side of the Berthoud Pass parking lot, near Nitro Chute, a region of the high mountain pass that On The Snow categorizes as an "expert."
The Denver Post reports that Light deployed his avalanche air bag and was not seriously injured, but also notes that there have been five avalanche-related deaths in Colorado since November of 2013.
In the video, Light can be seen dropping down and taking a few turns before spotting the avalanche. He is then seen skiing off a cliff, rather than letting the avalanche force him over it.
Watch the harrowing video above and be careful out there.
Related
Before You Go
