Heart-Stopping Footage Shows Skier Getting Caught in Two Avalanches

A professional skier filmed the heart-stopping moment when he got caught in an avalanche — while his friend was seriously injured trying to save him when he got swept up in a second avalanche that dropped him 1,600 feet at a speed of 50 miles per hour.

Ryan McClure and Connor Ryan were skiing down the King Solomon mountain in San Juans, Colorado on April 28 when they were swept up in two separate extremely powerful avalanches.

Ryan, who appears to be filming himself with a GoPro camera strapped to his helmet, can be seen getting swept up in the first treacherous avalanche.

In the first clip, Ryan can be heard groaning in terror as the force of the snow slide sends him hurtling down the mountain. At one point in the clip, only a barrage of white snow can be seen as the avalanche clears him.

The professional skier breathes heavily and eventually manages to get on top of the snow. As he pulls himself into a seated position, McClure watches the end of the avalanche falling down the mountainside.

In a second clip, Ryan hears one of his ski partners say over the radio: “Avalanche, avalanche, avalanche” before a second blisteringly powerful avalanche is suddenly seen falling down the mountain in a shocking twist.

“Holy f**k,” Ryan is heard saying at the sight of the snow slide as he sits ski-less on the slope.

According to Denver7, when McClure saw his ski partner Ryan swept up by the first avalanche, he traversed the dangerous slope to help his friend who was stuck without skis.

But, as he tried to come to his friend’s aid, McClure got caught up in a second, larger avalanche. McClure was wearing a smart-watch at the time that detected he had slid 1,600 feet and hit a max speed of 50 miles per hour. When he came crashing down, McClure’s leg hit part of the mountain, breaking his femur.

Now, Ryan had to traverse down the slope to help his injured friend McClure — with the second avalanche being much further down the mountain that he had dropped.

When Ryan reached McClure, he put his leg in a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Eventually, McClure was life-flighted to the hospital to undergo three surgeries on his leg and it may take him up to six months to start walking again.

McClure hopes to ski again and his friends have started a GoFundMe to help him while he is unable to work during his recovery.

Image credits: Featured image via YouTube/Denver7.