On July 8, 2022, nine Brits and and one American were on a guided tour of the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan when an avalanche broke loose from a low saddle between two peaks. And one of the hikers captured footage of it that is simultaneously some of the best, and most terrifying, avalanche footage there is.
The group had reached the highest point of the trek, in Jukku Pass, and Briton Harry Shimmin had separated from the group to take a few photos.
“While I was taking pictures I heard the sound of deep ice cracking behind me,” he explained. “This is where the video starts. I’d been there for a few minutes already so I knew there was a spot for shelter right next to me.”
It’s hard to fathom simply standing in the way of an oncoming avalanche the way the camera operator does. Shimmin took to social media to answer a few burning questions, like why he chose not to run.
“Out of 10 of us, only one person actually tried to run,” he wrote. “She was the only one that was injured. She was knocked over by the debris/powder after making it maybe 10 meters further back. The avalanche travelled farther than anyone could have run. Even if I wanted to run, I couldn’t, there was a cliff right behind me. There was, however, cover right next to me which I’d seen earlier.”
Since Shimmin knew that he wasn’t able to outrun the avalanche should it come to that, and he knew that he had, at least, a bit of cover nearby, he decided to get the best possible shot.
“I knew this was a once in a life time opportunity,” he said. “I was determined to make the most of it and film to the last second. Even when I was jumping for cover I had my arm outstretched trying to keep a good shot.”
Once behind his tiny bit of cover, Shimmin was keenly aware that perhaps it might have been smarter to take cover a little sooner.
“I’m very aware that I took a big risk,” Shimmin said. “I felt in control, but regardless, when the snow started coming over and it got dark/harder to breath, I was bricking it and thought I might die. Behind the rock it was like being inside a blizzard. Once it was over the adrenaline rush hit me hard.”
Amazingly, Shimmin was completely unscathed after the incident. “I was only covered in light powder, without a scratch,” he continued. “I felt giddy. I knew the rest of the group was further away from the avalanche so (they) should be okay. When I re-joined them I could see they were all safe, although one had cut her knee quite badly (she rode one of the horses to the nearest medical facility). Another had fallen off a horse and sustained some light bruising.”
Thankfully, no one in the group was hurt badly, and all were extraordinarily happy to still be breathing. “The whole group was laughing and crying, happy to be alive (including the girl who cut her knee),” Shimmin finished. “It was only later we realized just how lucky we’d been. If we had walked five minutes further on our trek, we would all be dead. If you look carefully in the video, you can see the faint grey trail winding through the grass. That was the path. We traversed it afterwards, walking among massive ice boulders and rocks that had been thrown much further than we could have run, even if we acted immediately. To make it worse, the path runs alongside a low ridge, hiding the mountain from view, so we would have only heard the roar before lights out.”
