A skier said he "heard a boom, like a shotgun had gone off next to me" just moments before getting caught in an avalanche on the Remarkables in Queenstown this morning.
Joe O'Connor had been skiing and snowboarding with a friend southeast of the Sugar Bowl area, along the east aspect of the Doolans, around 11am when he was caught in the size 3 avalanche.
He told the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council it was "a pretty scary experience".
O'Connor said he and his mate had done everything right, after carrying out snowpack tests and speaking to Ski Patrol staff, who said it "should be pretty safe over there". He had also completed an avalanche skills course just last month.
"We thought, ‘OK, great. It’s a mint day.' Of course, there’s always the danger but we don't expect there to be any super big happenings," he said.
At 11am, O'Connor's friend wad heading back up the hill, with O'Connor 20 metres behind him, when he saw a piece of crust break off and start sliding towards the pair.
"Once that went there was a big wind slab just about 50m above us, and then it all dropped," he said.
"I just heard a boom, like a shotgun had gone off next to me, and then before I knew it, I was sliding and I couldn’t control where I was going."
While his friend managed to escape the avalanche in the nick of time, O'Connor said he "just couldn't turn my skis in time".
"It was a pretty scary experience! There were a lot of thoughts going through my head as I was sliding.
"I slid about 100m, and by the time I stopped I was buried about waist deep, so I managed to get my pack off and dig myself out."
The pair then called for help.
O'Connor said while they were "always aware of the risks of going into the backcountry", today's incident was an "eye-opener".
"We definitely should've shown a lot more caution. We thought we were doing the best we could with gathering info and tests," he said.
"We just got a bit too comfortable thinking everything was fine, and that’s all it took – one wrong step."
While the incident has left him "a bit more weary", O'Connor said it "hasn’t scared me off from getting back out in the backcountry”.
The crown wall, or the starting point of the avalanche, "was about 2 metres deep and was about 200 metres long", a police spokesperson said.
Three helicopters were used to fly in police search and rescue teams, ski patrol staff and three dog teams just after 12.15pm.
Police thanked those involved in the rescue and say the risk of avalanche is now "moderate", or a 2 on a 1-5 scale.
"This is a timely reminder that the risk of avalanches in these conditions is real," the spokesperson added.
"Police advise to always assess the conditions and consult with the Avalanche Advisory, NZ Mountain Safety Council site for up to date conditions.
"Be sure to discuss your plans with ski patrol and be equipped with transceivers, shovels and probes that you know how to use."
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