The crew saved me | Ahmet Dadali

Just a reminder to stay safe guys!

"I don’t want to sound overdramatic but without the homies to help me
out of this mess, I may not have made it.

We always have avalanche danger on our minds when we approach the
backcountry that we tend to forget the many other ways we can find
ourselves in a dangerous situation. I miscalculated this step down, my
skis hit the tree and I was flipped backwards and upside down into the
deep snow. At first I thought I could bust out a breathing pathway with
my arms. I failed in this attempt and only accomplished to burn energy
and precious oxygen. I thought next, “stay calm”. I have no idea who was
near me, if anyone as the boys were previously hitting a jump. So as my
oxygen started getting low I said fuck the calm and thought I could try
to punch through once again. This only worked to knock snow down my
throat and more snow on top of me. I had snow in my lungs, making me
cough and unable to breathe at all. Luckily at this point the crew had
made it to me and dug me out of this hectic situation in time.

I want to post this video to serve as a reminder to use the right
protocol in all situations in the backcountry. Many of us over indulge
in our phones hoping to capture the next funny viral clip and forget our
friends can be in peril danger. I’m so happy to see how quickly Paddy
Graham put his phone down and ran to my rescue with Tom Ritsch and Syo
Van Vliet without these guys quick actions I may have been an iceman and
I’m so happy to be with the crew I’m with out there..

We are our brothers keepers, we love each other so we need to protect
each other when we are out doing the thing we love to do. Backcountry is
adherently dangerous. Getting to buried friends is not easy. So I want
to reiterate to everyone to always be ready for the unforeseen and take
the proper precautions while out in the powder."

Filmed by Fabi Hyden, Julien Pintarelli, Paddy Graham.

Edits Powder Big Mountain Backcountry