Aymar Navarro is fortunate to be alive after being swept up by a massive avalanche that he triggered during a film shoot in the Spanish Pyrenees. The slide was so vast and swift that Navarro was skiing on top of it briefly before tumbling head over heels and becoming enveloped by snow.
The freeskier was fortunate because he was wearing an avalanche airbag. These devices inflate when activated to help prevent victims from becoming buried too deeply.
While the footage might appear to some to be a commercial for airbags–one of the YouTube comments was an inquiry about this–it almost certainly was not and, in fact, ABS Avalanche Airbags replied to the comment with this:
"For sure not: Avalanches are dangerous and always potentially life-threatening. This happened during a production for a TV commercial for a car brand."
To be sure, airbags do not guarantee survival, even with film crews on site.
The incident occurred shortly after Navarro began his descent from the Tuc de Barloguera peak. The run was filmed from the air and with a helmet-cam worn by Navarro, under the direction of Nil Torremocha of Bumpyfilms.com.
–Note: This post also appears at GrindTv Action Sports
–Hat tip to Adventure Journal
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