A skier has shared chilling footage of the moment he rescued a snowboarder who had been buried alive head-first in a heavy pile of snow.
Francis Zuber had been on the slopes at Mount Baker, Washington, when he noticed something bright poking out of the snow. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. Check it out:
After investigating the mysterious object in the show, Zuber realised he had found a snowboard - with someone's feet attached to it.
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In a sudden panic, he realised that someone had fallen in the heavy snow and their entire body had been submerged underneath.
"You alright?" he asks as he climbs toward the snowboarder - but there's no response.
Remaining as calm as possible, Zuber takes off his skis and starts digging into the snow with his gloves to try and reach the buried snowboarder.
It's impossible not to hold your breath as the footage from Zuber's bodycam shows him frantically digging through the snow and calling out to the snowboarder, with no response.
Eventually, Zuber reaches the snowboarder's face, and clears off the show so that he can breathe.
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The snowboarder, who was later revealed to be a man named Ian Steger, can be heard taking a desperate gasp of air when his face is finally uncovered.
"Okay, you’re good, I got you,” Zuber tells Steger. “Alright we’re both gonna catch our breath for a sec, then I’m gonna help dig you out, okay?"
Finally able to catch his breath, Steger replies: "Thank you."
Zeger then whips out an emergency shovel that he had been carrying in his backpack and assembles it as quick as he can, so he can start digging Steger free.
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Sharing the footage to his Instagram page a few weeks later, Zeger warned his fellow skiers and snowboarders about the dangers of the mountains, and reminded them how important it is to travel in pairs or in a group.
"Tree wells are real," he wrote.
"If you ski or snowboard, take a moment to watch... Started writing something really long about this experience, but I'll save that for another time and let the video speak for itself.
"All I'll say for now is the mountains don't care how much skill or experience you have. They don't even care if you and your ski partners are doing everything right.
"Take an Avy 1 course, and get trained on what to do if you find yourself in this situation. I'm thankful I knew just enough to scrape by and perform a successful rescue. And always look out for each other out there."
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Reacting to the now-viral clip, viewers praised Zuber for following his instincts and knowing exactly what to do in a moment of panic.
"The most terrifying thing I’ve seen in a long time," commented one follower. "Heart was pounding. So many lessons here. You did an amazing job staying calm and saving someone’s life."
Another told Zuber: "I’ve been in emergency services for over 20 years - you nailed it! Way to dig deep, talk with him and remain calm. You saved a life that day no doubt. Cheers to you."
And a third viewer, who claimed to be a friend of rescued snowboarder Ian wrote: "Thank you for saving my dear friend. When he told me about this I felt claustrophobic & stressed just hearing it. Wasn’t sure I wanted to watch, but I did, and was nearly in tears.
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"Thank you so much, words can’t express how thankful I am that you spotted him & saved his life. I owe you a million beers."
Ali Condon