DENVER – Tyler DeWitt and Evan Hannibal were slowly making their way down a windswept slope during a backcountry snowboarding excursion in Colorado last spring when the shallow snow beneath them shifted and broke loose. “Avalanche!” shouted DeWitt.
Hannibal’s helmet cam captured the moment and the tense, profanity-laced exchange that followed as the slide near the Continental Divide gained momentum.
The experienced backcountry snowboarders weren’t injured, but the avalanche buried a service road in about 20 feet (6 meters) of snow and came dangerously close to Interstate 70, a major route for ski traffic.
As soon as they were safe, the two men called 911 to report the slide and spent two hours at the scene describing what happened.