SURVIVOR CAPTURED TERRIFYING VIDEO OF BEING STRUCK BY AN AVALANCHE

You may not consider the hazards mentioned when hiking among snow-capped mountains. However, the snow could suddenly fall in a devastating avalanche. This applied to a party of roughly ten individuals who were on a guided tour of Kyrgyzstan's Tian Shan highlands. The group heard ice cracking after they had reached the highest point of the climb; suddenly, an avalanche was approaching. It passed them in less than a minute, and amazingly, nobody was harmed.

One hiker, Harry Shimmin, took a horrifying video of the whole thing. He started to record a video after breaking away from the group to capture pictures and realising that an avalanche was about to occur. In an Instagram caption, Shimmin states, "I knew there was a place for shelter just next to me because I'd been there for a few minutes before." I don't move because I was on a precipice and could only flee from the refuge. He admits, "Yes, I knew it would have been safer to move to the shelter right away, but I left it until the last minute." 

“I’m very aware that I took a big risk. I felt in control, but regardless, when the snow started coming over and it got dark/harder to breathe, I was bricking it and thought I might die.”

Shimmin continues by detailing the encounter and its consequences. He did not sustain any scratches and was only lightly dusted with powder. He says, "I knew [the other group members] should be alright because they were farther away from the avalanche." They were all safe when I rejoined them, though one had suffered a serious cut to her knee; she rode one of the horses to the closest hospital. Another got some minor bruises after falling off a horse.