A mountain climber has opened up about the “sheer unbridled terror” he felt when he was hit by an avalanche around 400 feet above ground level. Leland Nisky was ice climbing the top of The Ribbon in Ouray, Colorado, when the avalanche hit.
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According to Climbing magazine, Nisky was alone, unroped and aware of the route’s reputation for releasing large avalanches, but with the morning of February 8 showing a low hazard forecast, he decided to go ahead with the climb. What followed was one of the most terrifying experiences of his life.
A video uploaded on his Instagram handle shows Nisky using an ice axe to hold onto the edge of the mountain. When the avalanche hits, Nisky is forced to use his other ice axe to secure himself in place as snow continues to fall on him. All of this occurred when he was around 400 feet off the ground.
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“In the video, it’s hard to tell, but I was slightly under a bulge of ice, meaning that I did not see it coming,” Nisky told Climbing magazine. “I was actually switching my hands to place my tool when it hit. It was terrifying.”
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The video clip, shared earlier this month which shows Nisky being bombarded with snow while clinging on for dear life garnered over 92,000 upvotes. While one user wrote, “Such incredible footage and extraordinary demonstration of skillfulness and strength!” another remarked, “Super scary stuff.”
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Speaking about how he survived the avalanche, which lasted two minutes, the mountain climber said, “I knew if I stayed terrified I probably would die, so I concentrated on controlling my breathing, hugging in tight to the wall to prevent snow buildup on my body, and tucked my head down to breathe a little air bubble,” and added, “I believe the only reason I lived is that I focused on my breathing to control my fear response instead of allowing fear to control me.”
