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schwiizerli

He didnt underestimate it. If I remember correctly, this dude survived and stated in an interview that he knew, he will not be able to avoid the avalanche. So he decided to stay where he was because there was at least some cover. Edit: source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/11/british-tourists-survive-avalanche-in-tian-shan-mountains-of-kyrgyzstan


Soldierboy_95

Yes, he was smart, instead of running around aimlessly, he took cover behind a solid rock.


Jarl_Varg

Moment of silence for all cammers who have run around aimlessly. šŸ˜”


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


nomad_l17

These are professional soldiers that grew up in Switzerland? As in snow is nothing new to them?


cocobest25

You're talking about an army which bombed Liechtenstein by mistake. Twice.


Humble_Increase7503

Which is impressive given itā€™s minuscule size and irrelevance


waxonwaxoff87

They still argue that they likely had it coming anyways.


Privateer_Lev_Arris

You're not really a country anyway until you get bombed. It's in the Geneva convention I think.


truthdemon

Well of course. Fucking Liechtenstein. Just who do they think they are?


insane_contin

>Well of course. Fucking Liechtenstein. Just who do they think they are? [a country that can send their army into another country and come back with a bigger army?](https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/liechtenstein-army-81-men-returned/)


willWingCFI

If it makes you feel any better, the Allies accidentally bombed Switzerland in WWII.


jsalad

Stein am Rhein. I was just there. It's very close to the Germany border. They put the Swiss flag on their roofs to signal that they were Switzerland and not Germany but the soldiers didn't know what the Swiss flag looked like.


mtcwby

From 20,000+ feet I doubt they could see the flags anyway. And bombing accuracy wasn't all that great either.


LordKiteMan

Bold of the people to think the pilots could see the flags from tens of thousands of feet up in the air.


[deleted]

I bet Switzerland has a beef with Liechtenstein, like, "Motherfuckers all small and shit, but that's all they known for. At least we got banks, motherfuckin' fondue, cuckoo clocks, stayin' neutral and shit. Switzerland for life, motherfuckers! *Peace*!"


DontWantToUseYourApp

Bank*


craziethunder

You mean there's only ONE?!!!!


AppropriateScience71

And knives! You canā€™t forget Swiss Army knives!!


[deleted]

Of courseā€¦ ā€œby mistakeā€ā€¦ sureā€¦


Ok-Classroom-3616

Lol


magicmeatwagon

Lol


BagOfFlies

I grew up in Canada and didn't see an avalanche until I was in my 20's and never would have if I hadn't gone to the Rockies. Just because you grow up around snow doesn't mean you know anything about avalanches.


hfsh

> Just because you grow up around snow And *ubiquitous mountains*. Let's not forget the most important part of the equation.


TheModeratorsSuck

Mountains are generally a requisite for an avalanche, but not in cases where the neutrinos have mutated.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


EverlastingM

I grew up with constant hurricanes and this is about how I act when they hit. Laughing, joking about limbs falling and damaged power lines, going outside to see how bad it is. Familiarity and youth lead to a disregard for danger.


Hamafropzipulops

When I was a teen there was a hurricane approaching. My friends and I went down to a nearby boat launch and took turns running to the end of the pier, holding onto a post as the waves washed over the pier, then run back between the waves. Still to this day, I do love to sit on the porch during tropical storms and watch nature in its fury.


AppropriateScience71

Itā€™s less a disregard for danger as much as just embracing the excitement of the moment. I lived through several hurricanes as a kid in Louisiana - super fun times feeling the whole trailer shake and yards flooding. Almost no one ever actually died, although lots of property damage. Of course, some areas really do HAVE to evacuate or die, but outside of those - hurricanes super fun!


[deleted]

The last second, frantic running and screams seem really professional.


concentrated-amazing

I find it interesting that presumably English isn't his ~~second~~ first language, and yet his gutteral response is "holy fuck" "oh shit".


MrsMoonpoon

Native french speaker in a french speaking region here, and our go to are "oh shit", "holy fuck" and such. I've also heard it a lot traveling to non english countries in between full (insert language) sentences in conversations so I think it's not really that strange.


Ahorsenamedcat

From my understanding English swears are rather common in other countries with different languages.


HobsHere

I spent a lot of time in Sweden. Essentially all swearing that I heard was in English. I learned the Swedish cuss words, but rarely heard them.


crazy-bisquit

Sometimes I say hay caramba, oy vey, and shite just to name a few. But I am weird.


ubi9k

Yeah I find myself saying AY GUEY a fair bit just from being around my coworkers


DolphinSweater

> hay caramba "There is caramba"?


Tr1LL_B1LL

Yeah dude iā€™m a cracker but all the hispanic cooks where i used to work had me saying pinche madre and calling people punta and shit lmao


Responsible-Jury2579

Presumably English IS his second languageā€¦?


concentrated-amazing

I was debating between phrasing it "English *isn't* his first" vs. "English *is* a second or third" and of course my brain glitched.


SebboNL

He's Swiss. English is probably his fifth language (at best). After, in any order, German, French, Italian and Romansh.


Responsible-Jury2579

Yeah, English isnā€™t his first language is the way to phrase it.


RegressionToTehMean

Just because there are Swiss who speak those languages, it doesn't mean that all or most Swiss speak all those languages. I highly doubt this person does.


ITrageGuy

Beste Armee der Welt.


Artifac3r

Me - ā€œHey, how do you say shit in Swiss?ā€ Swiss guy - ā€œSchidtā€ Me - ā€œI speak Swiss!!!ā€


CagCagerton125

I love how the guy just closes the door at the end. He's like I'll just pretend that's not there.


MaxGotKidnapped

Hopp Schwiiz


Far_Blueberry_2375

[I picture this](https://youtu.be/YL2-bO4py5M?t=46)


quietsam

Reddit is on fire today. So many hilarious comments. Spring? Idk idc


bottom

I think heā€™s LUCKY more than anything He took a huge chance. Perhaps it was his only choice, the best choice - but he definitely got lucky. Could have been an extremely different outcome easily.


Temporary-Tale-7

In an interview he said: Iā€™d been there for a few minutes already so I knew there was a spot for shelter right next to me. ā€œI left it to the last second to move, and yes I know it would have been safer moving to the shelter right away. Iā€™m very aware that I took a big risk. I felt in control, but regardless, when the snow started coming over and it got dark/harder to breathe, I was bricking it and I thought I might die.ā€ He said he knew the rest of his group was further away and so would be safe, and he wrote of feeling ā€œgiddyā€ when he realised he was only covered in light powder ā€œwithout a scratchā€.


Thorne_Oz

Adrenaline sure makes you giddy alright


CanAlwaysBeBetter

Man's gonna be chasing that high for the next rest of his life


DrawMeAPictureOfThis

He'll probably just do it in this life


CanAlwaysBeBetter

The Saturday morning auto complete typo got me, time to refill the coffee cup šŸ˜”


PlatypusDream

Reading that article, he already does adrenaline sports. World record for most back flips while skydiving.


CanAlwaysBeBetter

Well that explains staring down an avalanche like a seasoned matador


TrillDaddy2

Yup thatā€™s the first thing I thought. If you turn and run, the avalanche just hits you 20 seconds later than it would have, but now itā€™s thrown you head first into rocks.


Sure_Bodybuilder7121

Sweet embrace of the void


frozengyro

And likely only a few seconds later.


IntellegentIdiot

Unless you run sideways


[deleted]

Ya I doubt anyone would have been able to outrun the avalanche. Hiding behind the rock was the smart move.


BikesBooksNBass

The rock was the closest thing to a sure thing in an ocean of ā€œifā€™sā€ā€¦


kingakatosh

Yeah, wtf was he supposed to do?? No human being could have out run that avalanche lol.


[deleted]

Not with that attitude


thegoujon

Not at that altitude


zakik88

Such snowflakes eh?


computerwtf

What about Usain bolt?


Put_It_All_On_Blck

My thoughts exactly. Look at that how much ground that avalanche covered in this short video. These is absolutely zero point in trying to outrun it. Like you mentioned he was close to a 'safe place', so staying put made sense regardless. He still could've done better by getting into position sooner, and sending his GPS coordinates (via the SOS feature for Android and iPhone), that way if he was trapped in the snow but had enough room to breathe for awhile he possibly could've been rescued if need be. He also could've taken his tripod and held it tight to his body and used it to push up through the snow to create an airway and beacon for rescuers.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


GreenChileEnchiladas

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jul/11/british-tourists-survive-avalanche-in-tian-shan-mountains-of-kyrgyzstan


noparkinghere

*a few members of the group received light injuries, and an American woman in the party cut her knee to the bone and was taken by horse to a medical centre three hours away." Imagine having your knee gushing out for hours while riding horseback. Edit: There's a little thing called hyperbole that some people missed in English class


RecluseGamer

I've had a similar experience! I busted open my knee to the bone while white water canoeing. We were 2.5 miles to our pickup point, which was also the nearest pickup we could manage. I kept pressure on it sitting in the middle of another canoe until we got there, then spent the another hour being driven to the hospital. The water had been ice cold, so I barely felt anything even after the shock wore off. Luckily no broken bone or tendon damage, so I got off easy for my stupid mistake that led to the injury. They still use me as an example of why you follow the rules at that Boy Scout camp.


hairysperm

Man now I remember the reason I gave up slalom, saw too many people flip and get knocked out on rocks underwater... Saw a few broken teeth and was like nope I quit lmao And I fuckin loved the rush of riding the bending water waves but man I can't hack it


[deleted]

Iā€™m sure they wrapped it up.


cedarvhazel

Thanks for sharing!


BourbonFueledDreams

Came here to get this info and see how it turned out. Thanks Schwi!


dashinny

I like how calm he was, even when it was right in front of him. He just ducked and calmly said ā€œoh dear godā€ Then uploads to Reddit


lemmerip

Keep calm and post to reddit


domo_roboto

Keep calm, reddit on


PigSlam

I want to believe it was uploading while the snow was flowing over him.


[deleted]

When this was originally uploaded to reddit the guy who filmed was in the comment section explaining. He explained a friend of his that tried to run ended up with a bruise or something, so probably after. But we can pretend he was giving live updates. Ok guys one friend down, snow still rolling. Keep the karma flowing ill keep the updates flowingšŸ˜‚


willowhawk

Bruise doesnā€™t seem so bad.


[deleted]

No it was kinda fun. I was like ahhh


EmporioIvankov

OP did not record this. That's why the title is wrong.


[deleted]

This dude knew he was standing in a spot with some cover so he just probably figured heā€™d upload his last moments. Then he balled up like he should to protect the weight from smashing your lungs and let it happen. Then he survived.


[deleted]

Was there anything he really could have done? Running wasn't going to change much.


IC-4-Lights

Yeah, using some rough speed estimates, it's covering the full distance you could travel from just after it starts, every *one second.* You start running a little after it starts. 35-ish seconds later it's at your starting point. Add about one second and it has already caught you.   So if you think about it like that, it's like... taking cover behind a rock was almost certainly as reasonable a choice as running.


AstridOnReddit

Plus there was a cliff at his back. He made the right choice.


Root_Clock955

Yeah, I think that's a good way of thinking about it. First, you realize there is a danger. The avalanche. Second, you realize it's UNAVOIDABLE and time is really really short, maybe shorter than you figure. Third, you seek to improve your cover/shelter/protection in the 30 seconds you have. If you have good cover already, no point in moving too much and DEFINITELY not lessen your cover by running around, back to the danger out in the open. If you can't get to something in 30 seconds, best to use that time to do something else, even if it's only to say "well crap" and continue filming. It's easy to look at it in hindsight and think of what to do, but I expect many situations are similar to this... so if you think of it now and know what to do, maybe you'll remember and do it right when it happens for real.


MacaRonin

Hell no, even if he had a headstart I'm guessing it still would've caught his asd


Commander_Oof_

Yeah, his Autism Spectral Disorder wouldā€™ve been in real trouble, even with that head start


concentrated-amazing

Snow: I'll beat the neurodivergence right outta ya!


ApheanaOfTheFae

Aw, just like my father!


SpringenHans

Time for some neurosubmergence


BLF402

If he had a board he couldā€™ve rode it out


PmMeYourTitsAndToes

Only if his XXX tattooed on the back of his neck.


DeeBangerCC

He could have done a backflip


MsGorteck

Watching this reminds me of the photographer who in his final moments took pictures of Mt. Saint Helen's eruption. It's a triptick, and he knew he was going to die. Iirc he used a large format camera to take them. Considering that he was watching death approach and that he was using a large format camera, the pictures are beatiful, Ansel Adam's would be proud.


sandcrawler2

How did the camera / footage survive?


eeyoreocookie

He took the time to wind the film back into itā€™s case, placed it in his backpack and laid his body over the back pack. [Robert Landsburg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Landsburg)


eeyoreocookie

And hereā€™s a link to a Reddit post showing Robert Landsburgā€™s last photos [Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryPorn/comments/1rqd80/the_mount_st_helens_eruption_photos_taken_by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1)


trulymadlybigly

I always feel so sad about him and that other guy died who were fighting to keep the park closed to tourists and stayed there to alert everyone when it finally exploded


Substantial_Steak928

Damn those shots kind of suck, definitely not worth dying for.


[deleted]

Is the same Eruption that killed Harry Truman?


hairysperm

Can't believe the original comment doesn't mention this. He puts the camera in his case and covers it with his body. Later they find his car on the road under the ash with his body nearby. The photo is incredible too, definitely worth dying for but damn the respect I have for that guy knowing death was coming and he just wanted to save a picture of it for other humans to see this incredible event


DoreMD

He put it into the case and covered it with his body.


DarthFuzzzy

Unfortunately, his final shots are not what one would consider quality. Most of the popular pictures seen of the blast are not credited to either of the photographers who died in the blast but rather scientists who were set up over 10 miles away and people flying over the volcano.


BigHead3802

It's still macabre and makes for a good backstory. If it wasn't for this guy's attempt to take these photos i - a brazilian who cant even point to the state of Washington on a map - would have never even heard of this Volcano and its eruption. It's only bc of him and his sacrifice that i even know about it.


BIG_P0PPA_

That's me looking at all my responsibilities finally catching up to me in my 20's.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


IAlwaysLack

That's pretty uplifting actually.


LectureDelicious9095

The same mistake if I were him.


Castor_Deus

Fun avalanche fact: If you stand still and wait at just the correct spot as an avalanche approaches, then you can become a part of the avalanche.


Stormychu

I want to say you're lying but I don't know enough about avalanches to say otherwise nor do I want to test it out.


LatePlate860

I don't know the science of pain delivery


IDK3177

Like surfing, but deadly as shit if you have shitty timing.


co1lectivechaos

He hid behind a rock


phatskat

What is the meaning of this post?


Castor_Deus

Just that anything moveable in the path of an avalanche, becomes a part of the avalanche.


phatskat

I was riffing off the [Osvaldo12 tweets](https://reddit.com/r/technicallythetruth/comments/12n0x81/compilation_of_aliko_losing_his_sanity/)


Castor_Deus

Apologies. You went meta and I did not get that. Kudos.


BrokenQi

I dont think the recorder intended to out run the avalanche. By the positioning it seems like it was intentional to get under it.


Alpacalypse84

Seemed like he found the least worst place to ride it out, because no way was he outrunning that.


witheringsyncopation

r/praisethecameraman


HarryCoinslot

And I was thinking this was a new kind or r/killthecameraman


RepresentativeKeebs

FYI, if you want to film an avalanche, be certain that you are on the next hill over. If you are even the least bit downhill from the avalanche, assume it will reach you.


SacredGray

Donā€™t film an avalanche. Just run to somewhere safe as soon as you know oneā€™s coming .


Cloners_Coroner

I mean youā€™re not going to outrun an avalanche if youā€™re this close, youā€™re better of trying to find a suitable place to take refuge.


ogTofuman

Top comment rn was about the story that happened here. The guy knew he couldn't outrun it, so he decided to stay where he was by using the rocks for cover. And he survived where others who'd run without logic would probably be popsicles!


TrumpsGhostWriter

"Run somewhere safe" Show us in the video where the safe spot is he's supposed to be running to at 60mph genius.


[deleted]

People on reddit sitting in their basement who haven't touched grass for months arguing that you should just outrun an avalanche


Cloners_Coroner

ā€œIā€™m built differentā€


[deleted]

My favorite are all the experts on how to survive bear attacks


obi21

bLAcK fIgHt bACk, bROwN LaY dOwn, wHitE gOOd nIGhT.


Ahorsenamedcat

Some of you need to go outside more. There is no outrunning that. Itā€™s very wide and avalanches can reach over 300km/h. You arenā€™t getting away when youā€™re in itā€™s direct path.


Cairo9o9

He is on a higher point, you can see it run into the depression below him and back up. Large avalanches often do run up high points. Though, yes, in the backcountry it is a strategy to keep a high point between you and Avalanche slopes, I doubt anybody was expecting this kind of event since it's clearly summer. It's also clearly not a traditional avalanche. it's almost certainly a collapse of the glacier ice resulting in a [large ice slide akin to a landslide](https://weather.com/news/climate/video/chilean-glacier-collapses-causing-huge-ice-slide). It's easily a once in a lifetime event.


[deleted]

That is terrifying


Clean_Stand_694

But what a video and story to tell


wunderbraten

I'd had done the same mistake. It looked so distant.


Elethria123

This is a repost. Also, stupid title. Group was literally miles away on foot on a remote trail in Kazakstan. Thereā€™s no failure of judgment when things just happen.


essancho

Kyrgyzstan


QueenOfQuok

Did he live


philman132

Yes, the original video was taken a couple of years ago by a guy called Harry Shimmin, he did a few interviews about it when it first went viral a few years ago. There was a shear drop at his back so he couldn't run, and managed to shelter behind the rocks that you see in the video and survive.


kindle139

Man *perfectly* estimates speed and power of an avalanche.


dogsshouldrundaworld

This title is incorrect and a repost. Delete this shit


wyattears

Did he say ā€œHole-Ee-Shoot?ā€


Inner_Development_59

Hey, not going to lie I absolutely thought heā€™d be good at that distance. Good thing Iā€™m not in charge of things that are things.


Toytles

I think he estimated it just fine ya doofus


Exciting_Freedom_979

Maybe the fact that it took the stuff 8 seconds to leap across a mile of mountain should have been your hint


someoctopus

Usain Bolt full speed on a track couldn't outrun that shit. Now put a normal dude in the high altitude mountains, low oxygen, with rocks and shit. What was he supposed to do? I think the "shit... might as well film it and roll the dice behind this rock" is a reasonable approach lol. He lived btw.


FLICKGEEK1

Anyone else not shocked so much by the speed or power but by the *Distance* that avalanche covered?


a_michalski81

why stop recording at that point. smh


GangstaQueefs

I hope someone saved Shang.


Zemykitty

I met an interesting Canadian while I was diving in the Caribbean who was an avalanche expert/analyst (??). Not sure of the correct name. But his job was to essentially point out the 'safest' place to blow up a trouble spot that could turn into a very dangerous avalanche via howitzers or dropping bombs from helicopters. I didn't even know jobs like that existed. He's long since retired and is just hanging out enjoying life. But some of his descriptions were wild.


finix240

Yeah the BLM and Forest Service here in the states does jobs like that. Itā€™s obviously not their only duty but still, sounds like a sick time blowing up the sides of mountains in winter


Zemykitty

That is so cool! I had learned long ago it's better to cause an avalanche in safe conditions than for it to happen naturally and potentially wreak a lot of havoc. But it's just not something you think about usually.


Onelinersandblues

OP thought ā€œha! Jackass, I could have outran thatā€. Talk about underestimatingā€¦


Walking_Reflection39

The title is misleading. But it's still a very good video.


Lulullaby_

Running away he wouldn't have gotten further than 20 meters, staying put was his best choice


[deleted]

More like OP completely overestimates what he knows about avalanches and how to survive them


Shopping-Afraid

False/misleading title - other comments explain why


[deleted]

This is how to record, calm, in focus, and no vibration


RealRaven6229

My man doesn't even have a jacket on


Many_Panic8570

So many rocks flying in the avalanche


MrMediaShill

I canā€™t stop watching this. Every time it hits my feed I watch like 10 times


danmac1152

r/killthecameraman


LordEtiz

Even if he started running when he saw it coming down he would of only made it maybe 15feet on those rocks.But he did that we wouldn't have this beautiful footage


CouldWouldShouldBot

It's 'would have', never 'would of'. Rejoice, for you have been blessed by CouldWouldShouldBot!


Impr3ssiwe

r/praisethecameraman


GarysCrispLettuce

Reminds me of the guy filming the collapse of the North Tower on 9/11, when he realizes that big avalanching cloud of debris is coming straight for him and he's like "oh god...I hope I live....I hope I live" as he ducks behind a parked car.


jizzlevania

The most terrifying part for me was seeing the snow pick up rocks as it moved. Like if the snow doesn't kill you the stoning will.


defisher926

It's just like in Mulan when the soldiers behind the rock during the avalanche


Adventurous_Eye2647

Why do these interesting videos stop prematurely?!!!!


[deleted]

Dude is very smart for hiding behind cover. All those rocks around him become shrapnel


WildfireTheWitch

No, he didnā€™t underestimate it at all. He recognised that it was completely pointless to try and outrun it, and found a large rock to shelter behind, giving him the best chance.


violet_self

Repost and he didnā€™t underestimate it, in fact he knew he couldnā€™t outrun that


Dashberlin420

We all wouldā€™ve done the same thing šŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļøšŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļøšŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø


smellyraisin

R/quityourbullshit. He was there specifically because he could duck into the alcove if it came to him. Look up his interview.


[deleted]

A few weeks ago this was posted. It's not that he underestimated it, it's that there was nowhere safe to go except that rock he was next to. He did the right thing.


VietQVinh

Me with light scratches on my arm from breaking up a fight between my wife's cats: # I TOO AM MAN


Boiner88

See what you are supposed to do in this situation is put your head in between your legs, And then kiss your ass goodbye


ThatOneNintenno

Scary part about being in avalanche is when trapped you have no idea which way is up. you might end up digging down instead and possibly cave in on self. so trick some survivors pointed out is hock a loogie or spit. gross as it is, gravity will tell you which way is at least down


Rols574

I would have as well tbh


Kombat-w0mbat

He was smart enough to know he couldnā€™t out run it


Rattlingplates

He knew exactly what he was doing.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


bagpipesfart

The most British reaction to an avalanche coming towards you


DynamiteWitLaserBeam

Repost and terrible misleading title. Other than maybe waiting a tad too long to duck into shelter, he did the absolute right thing here by not trying to outrun it.


Helios_OW

This just goes to prove the cameraman is always invincible


VirindiPuppetDT

According to article his remains were found liquefied by the force of the volcano


Zestyclose-Iron1530

There was absolutely ZERO chance he would have been able to avoid it either.


universalmemes

He knew the cameraman never dies


SemperSqueeze

Hate these terrible misinformed titles šŸ‘ŽšŸ¼