JUKKU PASS, Kyrgyzstan – A group of 10 climbers in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan Mountains in a warm summer were subjected to an unwanted blast in winter as a massive avalanche raced down the mountainside and crashed at their party.
Harry Shimin rolled his camera as the wall of snow rolled first on a distant mountainside, only to continue heading towards his location.
“We just made it to the highest point of the trip and I separated from the group to take pictures over the edge of the hill/cliff,” Shimin told ViralHog. “While I was taking pictures, I heard the sound of deep ice cracking behind me.”
That’s when he turned around and started filming, only to see the snow continue. Schmin said there was a shelter nearby, but being on the edge of a cliff, there were no escape options. He hid behind a boulder while an avalanche was billowing overhead.
“When it started snowing and it got dark/more difficult to breathe, I just let go and thought I might die,” he said, adding that being behind the boulder was like “being inside a snowstorm.”
When the avalanche passed, Shimin said he was relieved to find he was unharmed, covered in a light powder. The rest of his party members survived with only one minor injury.
“We later realized how lucky we were,” he said. “If we walked another 5 minutes on our journey, we would all be dead.”
