“I was able to get out of the, you know, off the slab and kind of dig my hands in and hold myself there.” –Matt Galland
Galland used his avalanche whistle to alert his friend downslope and yelled his friend’s name. Galland said his friend was his biggest worry. The friend yells back that he’s OK. Galland has been a backcountry skier for 25 years, skiing 80 to 100 days a year. He described himself as skiing conservatively, usually only on green days, yellow, at the least. He has never seen or triggered an avalanche before.
Thankfully, everyone was okay. Galland later took a helicopter flight over the area to better understand the scope of the avalanche.
“It was just Mother Nature reminding us, ‘I’m super powerful. I’ll always win, eventually, if you test me. And, respect me and my boundaries.”
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