Watch a Skier Fall 1,600 Feet Down the Side of a Mountain

He survived, somehow.

Wiping out on the slopes sucks. Eating shit while strapped to a pair of skis or a snowboard makes your fall nearly impossible to control, and despite the relative cushion of fresh powder, the cold of snow makes for a terrible place to regain your composure.

Your worst mountainside wipe-out is nowhere near as bad as the one experienced by pro skiing veteran Ian McIntosh, who narrowly survived after falling 1,600 feet down the side of a mountain while filing for Paradise Waits in Nevada.

Here are some details from the description of the video posted by Teton Gravity Research (TGR) on YouTube:

While filming for Paradise Waits up in the Neacola range of AK, Mac dropped into a line he thought he had studied thoroughly enough, only to fall into an unseen five foot deep trench on one of his first turns. “From there, my slough took over and their was no way to stop, I pulled my airbag to help prevent against any possible trauma injuries as I tumbled to the bottom,” he said. While attempting to regain his footing, Mac lost a ski and cartwheeled over 1,600 feet in under a minute.

TGR cofounder Todd Jones called it “the most terrifying crash I’ve ever seen.” We’re inclined to agree.