B.C. man survives powerful avalanche, hopes his story is a lesson to others

CRANBROOK, B.C. – A British Columbia man is offering a cautionary tale after surviving an avalanche he says tossed him more than a kilometre down a mountain in just 30 seconds.

Twenty-five-year-old Caleb Brown of Fernie, B.C., says he and a skiing partner were in the backcountry around Golden near the Alberta boundary earlier this month when a powerful avalanche hit.

Brown and his companion are both trained in avalanche awareness and he admits he noticed a number of danger signs as they made their way up the slope, but he says they thought they would be safe.

The moment the snow fractured and began to slide, Brown says he was engulfed and overpowered immediately.

He says he never thought he would die, but he also says he fought very hard to stay near the surface of the snow.

Both people managed to stay on top of the avalanche, but Brown tore a knee ligament and he says he wants others to learn from his foolishness.