A snowboarder who was trapped under feet of heavy snow has an eagle-eyed skier to thank for likely saving his life.
Footage from Francis Zuber’s GoPro video camera, posted to YouTube, shows him get stuck in deep powder as he skied between the tops of snow-enshrouded trees near Washington’s Mt. Baker Ski Area earlier this month. Catching his breath, he happened to notice part of a colorful snowboard peeking up out of the powder.
“You all right?” he asked, even though he couldn’t see anyone.
Editor’s note: This video contains cursing.
When he received no response, he shuffled over to the board and started frantically digging.
“Hold on — I’m coming,” Zuber called out.
Zuber clawed through several feet of snow until he found the snowboarder, identified by KATU-2 as Ian Steger.
Steger, who had fallen down a tree well, was completely immobilized by the mound of snow.