A snowboarder can thank his inflatable backpack for saving him during an avalanche near Whistler, B.C. on Wednesday.
Tom Oye posted helmet-cam video of the terrifying incident in the Brandywine area on Facebook, where it has been viewed millions of times.
According to an earlier post, Oye — who is originally from Australia but now lives in Whistler — received the airbag backpack as a birthday gift last month.
David Cote, a local snowmobile guide, was just around the corner from the avalanche and witnessed the tail end of the slide around 10 a.m. PT.
“You could just see him sort of on the surface,” he said. “It’s hard to say exactly if he would’ve been buried without it, but I think he’s quite lucky that he had the avalanche airbag on.”