Jason P. is a 52-year-old experienced snowboarder from Reno, Nevada.
He has 35 years of skiing and snowboarding under his belt.
On January 10, 2024, he was at Palisades Tahoe ski resort in California with his fiancée.
It was the first day the KT-22 chairlift opened that season.
Despite low visibility and strong winds, they decided to hit the slopes.
Their first run went perfectly, so they went back up for a second.
“Five seconds later, that’s when the avalanche hit me,” Jason told NBC News. “It swept me off my feet, threw me onto my back.”
The wall of snow carried him over 500 feet down the mountain.
He tried to stay above the sliding snow, but it was moving too fast.
“That’s when it just covered me up and there was nothing I could do,” he said. “It was just, like, entombed me.”
Jason was buried under 4 feet of snow.
He couldn’t move his body at all.
He described it like being stuck in a “tub of concrete.”
But in that moment, Jason made a split-second decision that saved his life.
He punched a 6-inch air hole in front of his face.
Then he forced himself to calm down and slow his breathing to conserve oxygen.
After 7 to 9 minutes trapped underground, a rescue probe hit his back.
He heard someone say, “Hey, we’ve got him.”
Jason’s quick thinking and training saved his life when nothing else could and he walked away with only a slightly injured knee.
Sadly, another man in the same avalanche did not survive.
Knowing how to survive an avalanche is critical for anyone who ventures into winter backcountry.
So, here’s what you need to know about staying alive when the mountain turns against you.
Benefits of avalanche survival training:
Life-Saving Knowledge: Proper training teaches you the exact techniques that make the difference between life and survival.
Faster Rescue Times: Understanding how beacons work in both transmit and search modes speeds up rescue efforts.
Better Risk Assessment: Avalanche courses teach you to read terrain and recognize dangerous conditions before you’re in trouble.
This knowledge helps you avoid avalanches entirely rather than having to survive one.
Prevention is always better than rescue.
Drawbacks to avalanche preparedness:
No Guarantees: Even with the best training and equipment, avalanche survival is never certain.
Equipment Costs: Quality avalanche safety gear requires significant investment.
A beacon, probe, and shovel together cost several hundred dollars.
So, here are your top priorities for avalanche preparedness:
Priority 1: Avalanche Safety Course
Take an AIARE (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education) Level 1 course before heading into backcountry.
These courses teach snow science, terrain recognition, and rescue techniques.
You learn hands-on skills in real winter conditions.
This foundation could save your life or someone else’s.
Priority 2: The Essential Three
Every person needs an avalanche beacon, probe, and shovel.
Popular beacon options include the BCA Tracker and Mammut Barryvox.
Practice searching with your beacon until it becomes second nature.
All the gear in the world means nothing if you don’t know how to use it quickly.
Priority 3: Never Go Alone
Solo backcountry travel is extremely risky even with perfect equipment.
If you get buried and no one knows where you are, your survival chances drop dramatically.
Always travel with at least one partner who has proper training and equipment.
Stay in visual contact so someone always knows your location.
The reality is that avalanches are a serious risk for winter recreation enthusiasts.
According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, hundreds of people have been caught in avalanches over the past decade.
Jason survived because he had training and kept his cool under extreme pressure.
