Helmet Cam Avalanche Survival Video

Our friends at Black Diamond and Avalung just sent over this video today. If you haven’t seen it yet, do it now.

It’s a pretty sobering video. Skier Chris Cardello is riding a line in Haines with a helmet cam for Rage Films. An avalanche breaks off all around him, and he’s buried, while the cam continues to roll. He manages to get his Avalung into his mouth, and thanks to a speedy rescue, he’s pulled out alive after just five minutes. The incident happened last April, but it’s just as relevant today as ever.

Chris described it like this: “When the slide propagated, I tried to remain as composed as possible and make sure my AvaLung was in. As I was getting buried and the slide slowed, I threw one hand up and with my other hand I grasped the AvaLung, which had been ripped out of my mouth during the turbulent ride. While I was buried, I tried to be as calm as possible—I knew my hand was exposed so my crew would be digging me out shortly. I was able to breathe through the AvaLung, but it was difficult due to the snow jammed down my throat.”

Scary stuff.