Dramatic video: Skier buried under snow at Palisades Tahoe
Dramatic rescue of buried skier at Palisades
Carson Schmidt posted video of a dramatic rescue of a buried skier at Palisades.
OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. - An incredible rescue at Palisades Tahoe ski resort was captured on camera and shared widely on social media.
What we know:
Carson Schmidt posted a video to Instagram documenting the rescue, which occurred while he was skiing last Wednesday at the ski resort located in Olympic Valley in North Lake Tahoe.
Schmidt noticed the tips of another skier's skis poking out of the snow and quickly sprang into action.
Along with another skier, he was able to dig the buried skier out.
"For whatever reason, we just stop below, and I see ski tips and next thing you know, you just kind of go into go mode and just dig him out til you can find his face," Schmidt told Sacramento station, KCRA3. "He was in total shock, like all he wanted to find was his wife."
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Schmidt said the man was blue when they got him out and didn't know how long he had been buried, but he was able to ski away. He also said the man they rescued was in total shock, so they didn't catch his name or the story of how he ended up there.
What you can do:
Schmidt decided to share the video as a reminder to ski safely and to always ski with a friend.
"Everybody needs to be aware when you go out in that deep of snow. You need to ski with a partner, and you need to be trained. You need to have beacon, shovel, probe. You need to have all the right stuff," he told KCRA3.
This winter season in Lake Tahoe has been especially dangerous.
Nine people died in an avalanche in the Castle Peak area over President's Day Weekend and a total of five skiers have died at Northstar and Heavenly Mountains.