An experienced backcountry skier who was struck by an avalanche near Revelstoke, B.C. last month says he feels lucky to have walked away virtually unscathed.
Zach Birnie, who filmed the entire heart-stopping ordeal on a GoPro camera, has no plans to give up the sport, however.
“I would definitely approach that slope differently, maybe not even do it under the conditions, but as far as wanting to go out there and do stuff like that it hasn’t influenced it negatively me at all,” Birnie said.
The skier and a friend were on Mount Mackenzie looking for adventure when the avalanche hit on March 27.
Birnie’s GoPro footage shows him gliding down the slopes when he makes the terrifying realization that a wall of snow is bearing down on him.
“When I saw the whole thing crack, that was the moment I was really scared,” Birnie said. “After that I was kind of void of thought – just being pushed around, trying to breathe.”
Birnie skied for his life but was eventually swept about 350 metres down the slope, choking on snow and screaming all the way in the hopes it would help his friend locate him.
Fortunately, he was only buried for a few seconds.
“It felt much longer at the time but watching the video it’s quite short,” Birnie said.
Incredibly, the young man emerged essentially unharmed, suffering only a sore shoulder, and none of his equipment was lost.
Despite everything, Birnie said he still considers it a “good day” on the mountain.
“We had a lot of fresh snow, a lot of fresh lines, and it was still fun,” he said.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Kent Molgat
