Colorado's Ice climber faces 'near-death' experience after getting hit by severe avalanche

An ice climber from Colorado, United States, recently encountered a “near-death” experience when he was slammed by a severe avalanche while he was 400 feet above the earth. A horrifying video that has been uploaded on social media revealed that when the avalanche started, Leland Nisky was alone as well as unroped and was clinging to a ledge. The incident took place on February 8 as Nisky was climbing the summit of The Ribbon in Ouray, Colorado, Daily Mail reported.  

The alpinist who was hanging to his equipment began axing at the hillside in order to gain a firm position, as soon as the avalanche commenced. He then clung to his gear with 'every ounce of strength he could muster,' before moving his feet to the left, appearing to extricate himself out of the snowslide. Even though the avalanche occurred for nearly two minutes, Nisky later discovered that he had ascended around ten feet above his anchor unintentionally. 

Furthermore, before locating his anchor and connecting himself to it, the climber had to trek down the hill while some weak spindrift fell down. To get back to ground level, he completed two full-length 60-meter raps, Daily Mail reported. 

The ice climber narrates his scary climbing experience 

“It was loose snow sloughing off the surface and building until it became an avalanche, "Nisky recalled the terrible moment. He further added that a blast of wind was most likely to blame for the avalanche. He went on to say, “In the video, it is hard to tell, but I was slightly under a bulge of ice, meaning that I did not see it coming. I was actually switching my hands to place my tool when it hit. It was terrifying.” 

Narrating his scary story, the ice climber also added, “I knew if I stayed terrified, I probably would die, so I concentrated on controlling my breathing, hugging in tight to the wall to prevent snow buildup on my body, and tucked my head down to breathe a little air bubble”, Daily Mail reported. 

In addition to this, Nisky remembered the snow surge striking him with a ton of weight roughly 10 seconds after he had buried his second piece of equipment into the slope. The alpinist highlighted that he had never climbed The Ribbon before. Meanwhile, He was able to make his way up the trail promptly, and it took him approximately 45 minutes to finish the ascent. 

(Image: Instagram/ nemonisky)