Tyumen residents escape injury in Georgia avalanche

A snow avalanche swept over Tyumen freeriders on January 19 near the peak of Tetnuldi in the Georgian region of Upper Svaneti. The incident occurred during off-piste skiing.

Witnesses captured on video how masses of snow crashed down on the athletes and emotionally commented on the event. Despite the scale of the avalanche, none of the Russians were injured.

The group participants themselves published a video explaining the circumstances of the rescue. As it turned out, they are experienced snowboarders engaged in freeriding — skiing on natural terrain. They prepare for such trips by taking avalanche equipment and communication devices.

«We have a team of experienced riders. All with avalanche equipment, with radios. The slope was loaded, and if we hadn»t triggered it, it would have slid on the next ones,« said one of the participants. »The slope is away from the common trails, so this avalanche posed no danger to anyone. And we made sure beforehand that there was no one below us.«

«But for such risks, we have enough experience and skills. Nature, of course, doesn»t much care for our experience. The avalanche was big and dangerous, but everything went well. Everyone is alive and well, no injuries,« he added.

Local authorities do not consider freeriding a violation, as this activity is popular in the region. However, avalanches do not always pass without consequences. For example, in another case, a 10-year-old girl was buried under snow with her father. The man managed to get out on his own, and the child was rescued by emergency services within seven minutes — delay threatened suffocation.