Professional snowboarder survives avalanche with ABS uninjured

"We were out in the backcountry as part of the "Outdoor Games" in "Le Flegere"/ Chamonix with a local guide & ski guide when we discovered a great location to film. I had a bit of a bad feeling when I saw it, but the snow situation was deemed good and I entered the slope - and at the same moment it already broke away. However, it wasn't until the second turn that I noticed that the slope had started to slide and I was still trying to avoid it. That's why I pulled the handle of my airbag relatively late. My snowboard was pushed down by the snow and I thought that now I would be run over by the avalanche. But in the very next moment I felt the lift from the airbag, came back to the surface and finally came to rest above the masses of snow.

I am a professional athlete and know all about alpine dangers off the secured slopes. But even all that experience and knowledge can't protect you from an avalanche. That's why you have to equip yourself well. In addition to the avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel, I always have my ABS® with me to give myself the best chance of survival in an extreme emergency."

Rudi Kröll