Police bodycam footage shows the harrowing rescue of a snowmobiler who was buried by an avalanche in central Colorado on Monday.
A man was rescued after an avalanche buried him on the slopes of Vail Pass in central Colorado on Monday afternoon.
He and another man had been out snowmobiling on Shrine Mountain west of Vail Pass when they set off the avalanche, according to the Summit County Rescue Group (SCRG).
As one man became buried, the other tried to locate him by using his avalanche rescue transceiver, officials with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) said.
When he did not receive a signal, the unburied man then called 9-1-1 for help.
Site of the rescue.
(Colorado Avalanche Information Center / FOX Weather)
Personnel and dog teams with the Summit County Rescue Group, along with two deputies with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, responded to the scene.
The rescue was recorded on the bodycam of one of the deputies, showing rescue personnel using shovels to dig the man out of the snow.
“Approximately 2 feet down, two feet under the snow, we’ve just uncovered him,” one deputy can be heard saying off camera. “He is breathing, conscious and is speaking to us.”
SCRG officials said the man was buried for about 65 minutes.
His survival after being buried for that long is nothing short of extraordinary, as most people buried by avalanches usually suffocate and die within 15 minutes, according to Michael Schilling with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s extremely amazing,” he said to FOX Weather. “We go to those rescues, and oftentimes, they’re recoveries. So to find someone after an hour and five minutes of burial is extraordinarily rare.”
2 DEAD AFTER AVALANCHE BURIES SKIERS IN OREGON MOUNTAINS
Rescuers placing man on a gurney.
(Summit County Rescue Group / FOX Weather)
The buried man was moved off the field by snowmobile and a gurney on skis, and then transported by ambulance to a local hospital. SCRG said he suffered mainly from the early stages of hypothermia.
The avalanche comes after a series of intense winter storms brought heavy snowfall to the area. SCRG said the avalanche danger the day of the incident was rated by the CAIC as “high,” or 4 out of 5.
“Backcountry users need to be aware that an avalanche burial will generally result in a fatality if the subject is not located and uncovered within 15 minutes,” the SCRG said. “Survival is highly dependent on all members of the party having a transceiver, probe pole and shovel, and knowing how to use them. In this case, the subject was extremely fortunate to have been located alive.”
A series of avalanches have occurred over the past week, the CAIC said. They noted that the avalanches were measured as D3, or very large, events.
An example of an avalanche. This one occurred off a northwest aspect above the Maroon Creek Road near Aspen.
(Colorado Avalanche Information Center / FOX Weather)
“You don’t want to tangle with monsters like this,” they said.
The CAIC advised people to recreate on lower-angled slopes away from steeper terrain. This will help ensure safety and help avoid a potentially deadly avalanche.