A startling video released by Parks Canada showed a lone skier being swept away by an avalanche while traversing a steep backcountry run in Banff National Park on Tuesday.
The Mountain Safety division of Parks Canada released the footage, which shows the skier triggering a Size 2 avalanche on the “Vortex” run outside the Lake Louise ski area.
The video shows the skier heading down the mountain when a massive wall of snow suddenly gives way. “Avalanche! Avalanche! Avalanche!” the person recording the footage can be heard shouting.
Parks Canada said the avalanche “was triggered by a single skier while descending a west-facing slope at 2450 m elevation.”
The skier, who was not identified, miraculously survived but was buried waist-high in snow and lost both skis.
The skier “was otherwise uninjured,” Parks Canada said.
Parks Canada said the footage serves as an “important reminder that avalanches can happen anytime on any slope above 30 degrees, regardless of current danger ratings.”
A startling video released by Parks Canada showed a lone skier being swept away by an avalanche while traversing a steep backcountry run in Banff National Park on Tuesday. The Mountain Safety division of Parks Canada released the footage, which shows the skier triggering a Size 2 avalanche on the “Vortex” run outside the Lake Canada
A startling video released by Parks Canada showed a lone skier being swept away by an avalanche while traversing a steep backcountry run in Banff National Park on Tuesday.
The Mountain Safety division of Parks Canada released the footage, which shows the skier triggering a Size 2 avalanche on the “Vortex” run outside the Lake Louise ski area.
The video shows the skier heading down the mountain when a massive wall of snow suddenly gives way. “Avalanche! Avalanche! Avalanche!” the person recording the footage can be heard shouting.
Parks Canada said the avalanche “was triggered by a single skier while descending a west-facing slope at 2450 m elevation.”
The skier, who was not identified, miraculously survived but was buried waist-high in snow and lost both skis.
The skier “was otherwise uninjured,” Parks Canada said.
Parks Canada said the footage serves as an “important reminder that avalanches can happen anytime on any slope above 30 degrees, regardless of current danger ratings.”