JUKKU PASS, Kyrgyzstan — A group of 10 climbers taking in the sights of Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan Mountains on a warm, summer Friday got an unwelcome blast from winter as a massive avalanche raced down the mountainside and slammed into their group.
Harry Shimin’s camera panned as the wall of snow first rolled down a distant mountainside, only to continue heading towards his position.
“We had just reached the highest point in the trek and I broke away from the group to take pictures on top of the edge of a hill/cliff,” Shimin told ViralHog. “As I was taking photos, I heard the sound of deep ice cracking behind me.”
Then he turned around and started shooting, only to see the snow continue to fall. Shimmin said there was a shelter nearby, but since it was on the edge of a cliff, there was no way to escape. He hid behind a rock as the avalanche forged above him.
“When the snow started falling and it got dark/harder to breathe, I walled it up and thought I could die,” he said, adding that being behind the rock was like “being in a blizzard.”
Harry Shimin’s camera rolled as the wall of snow first rolled down a distant mountainside, only for the avalanche to continue heading towards his position. Harry Shimin via Viral Hog
When the avalanche passed, Shimmin said he was relieved to find he was unharmed, just covered in light dust. The rest of his group survived with only one minor injury.
When the avalanche passed, Shimmin was unharmed, just covered in light dust. Harry Shimmin via Viral Hog
“It wasn’t until later that we realized how lucky we were,” he said. “If we had walked 5 minutes further down our path, we would all be dead.”
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