"This Guy Okay?": Video Captures Scary Deep Snow Rescue at Ski Resort

It never hurts to have your wits about you when the snow starts piling up.

That’s exactly what professional skier Ian Deans did last week as a storm pummelled the Washington ski resort Summit at Snoqualmie.

During a recent day there, Deans spotted a skier headfirst in the snow. While one person was waiting near the buried skier, other strangers passed him by, on their way to score some fresh turns. But Deans stopped.

“This guy okay?” he can be heard asking in a POV video of the incident. The guy, it turned out, wasn’t okay. 

Deans sped over and began pulling him out of the snow.

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"I stopped because I could see his legs flailing," Deans said, according to the local news outlet KING5. "That's when I started digging just because I knew that with my avalanche training there was a chance he was suffocating." 

In the video, Deans worked quickly to get the snow out of the skier’s face, brushing the snow from his goggles. Once his airway was clear, the stunned-looking skier said, “Thank you.” 

As Deans pointed out in his social media post, avalanches are a major risk during big storms. But simply falling into the snow the wrong way can be dangerous, too. 

This kind of hazard is known as “deep snow immersion.” It refers to skiers and snowboarders who accidentally bury themselves under feet of powder. “In general terms, the more fresh snow the higher the risk,” according to deepsnowsafety.org.

The website notes that 90% of people in deep snow immersion hazard experiments couldn’t rescue themselves without help. “If a partner is not there for immediate rescue, the skier or rider may die very quickly from suffocation,” the website reads.

Those accidents can happen in open areas as they did in Deans' video, but tree wells—pockets in the snow that can plunge feet beneath the surface—are what skiers really need to watch out for on powder days.

The best way to stay safe is by avoiding off-trail skiing altogether. But if you plan to venture into the trees (that's where the good snow is, after all), keeping your friends in sight is the best way to stay safe. Some skiers carry whistles, too, so they can alert their friends if they get stuck.

Deans filmed the rescue amid one of the Pacific Northwest’s biggest storms this winter. 

At the time of his post, the Summit at Snoqualmie had picked up four feet of snow, transforming the ski area into a winter wonderland. It came amid a warm and largely snowless season, so skiers, clearly, were amped to take advantage of the powder.

Now, true to character for a winter that’s missed most expectations in the area, rain is falling on Washington’s ski resorts. 

“Grab your rubber jackets and pants, bring some dry clothes for the après and I'll see you all out there,” the Summit at Snoqualmie’s latest snow report reads.