“I couldn’t pull myself up because the snow was so heavy on top of me. I was buried, my face buried in the snow. I’m lucky I had the face mask, I had some air in the face mask.” Â -Janet He
A woman who was buried yesterday in an inbounds avalanche at Palisades Tahoe sat down with CBS News for an interview about her terrifying experience. Janet He and Joseph Lu were skiing down Palisade’s KT-22 run an avalanche broke loose. Janet was caught by the slide, carried 200 feet down the mountain and became buried.
Her husband immediately began a frantic search for his missing wife searching for her immediately:
“And I don’t see her. I’m yelling and yelling. When I realized what may happen, it really struck me. I was using my ski pole frantically punching everywhere and yelling her name.”
A stranger came to the rescue and dug Janet out:
“He says, ‘No worries, I got you. I think that’s the best thing I ever heard in my life.” Â
The couple walked down the mountain and realized how lucky they were to have escaped uninjured. They planned to ski today when Palisades reopens.
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office confirmed yesterday there was one fatality in the avalanche at Palisades Tahoe. The victim has been identified as 66-year-old year old Kenneth Kidd who is a resident of both Point Reyes and the Truckee Tahoe area. Our condolences go out to Mr. Kidd’s family and friends.
RELATED: 1 Confirmed Dead In Inbounds Avalanche @ Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort