Few people are luckier than this skier in Slovakia who was inches from getting taken down and crushed by a swift-moving avalanche. In this clip, the skier has a GoPro mounted on his helmet so we don’t see the avalanche until it’s passed right by him, and then we’re privy to how goddamn destructive avalanches can be.
Just unreal. That dude was humming along and veered off the trail for no more than a second when the avalanche caught up to him and took out everything below. If that had hit him from behind it’s not a certainty that he’d be dead, but I’d be willing to bet the family farm there would’ve been at least 5 broken bones and several other severe injuries.
The power of all that moving ice/snow/earth would’ve tossed him like a piece of seaweed getting crushed by waves and thrown up on the beach, twisting up his limbs in an instant. The skier in the clip is Norbert Salva, a teen skier who is said to be very experienced. So it’s safe to assume that his bailing off the trail to avoid the avalanche was 100% deliberate.
Let’s watch that crazy moment again once more, but this time in animated GIF:
Abso-fucking-lutely crazy. You can see how the earth gives out right at that corner where the skier bails off the trail. So close to potentially grave injury.