Edwin LaMair and his brother were skiing in East Vail when they decided to take different routes down the mountain and go out of bounds. But that decision proved to be a life-threatening one when Edwin got caught in an avalanche.
Edwin LaMair was on an off-track expedition with his brother and friend on top of Vail Mountain when he ventured off alone. Suddenly, the avalanche hit and Edwin found himself covered up to his neck in snow and fearing the worst.
Luckily, Edwin’s brother paused on a cliff to survey the mountain and somehow spotted him, despite the fact that Edwin was almost completely buried in snow. Without hesitation, Edwin’s brother went down the cliff to rescue Edwin, and the entire incident was caught on a GoPro camera attached to his helmet.
He found Edwin almost completely submerged under the snow and struggling to breathe. It took several hours to free him from the snow. “I was really worried I was going to be buried completely,” Edwin told TODAY. “I’m extremely thankful that everything turned out the way it did and that I didn’t sustain any worse injuries or die.”
Edwin escaped with only a knee injury, and luckily the avalanche occurred while it was still light out.
“We were lucky that they were able to find me and my head was above before it got dark, because if they had to search for me in the dark, it could’ve been a bad situation,” Edwin said. Authorities say their incident should serve as a warning for people to check avalanche forecasts before skiing and keep to marked trails.
Watch the GoPro footage in the video below and share this amazing rescue by clicking the button below.
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