British Skier Survives Terrifying 1,300ft Avalanche Ordeal in French Alps
A British skier was dramatically swept away and rendered unconscious by a colossal 1,300-foot avalanche, compelling his companions to dig through metres of compacted snow in a desperate race to save his life. Daniel Matthews, aged 23, found himself buried under a staggering seven feet of snow and remained unconscious for five agonising minutes after the mountainside he was skiing on in Tignes, within the French Alps, catastrophically collapsed last Friday.
A Descent into Chaos Captured on Camera
In a harrowing video shared on his Instagram, the Briton can be observed commencing his descent down the mountain before the avalanche violently strikes, engulfing him under a thick blanket of snow. Helmet camera footage vividly depicts him losing his balance dramatically as he is brushed under the snow. He then tumbles downhill at a rapid pace, being flipped over repeatedly, before being left completely immobile under the immense weight of the snow, which he later described as feeling like 'concrete'.
The avid skier, who conceded it was a 'very bad and uneducated decision' to venture onto the off-piste route, was located by his friends after six critical minutes using avalanche transceivers. They heroically excavated through almost seven feet of snow in just two and a half minutes and succeeded in freeing his head after nine minutes, subsequently helping him regain consciousness.
Miraculous Rescue and Stark Warnings
Ski patrollers arrived at the scene within minutes, and he was promptly extracted. 'If it wasn’t for their collective unbelievable work in finding me and digging me out so quickly I don’t think I would be alive right now,' Mr Matthews wrote in a reflective social media post. The CRS Alpes mountain rescue service remarked, 'We can say he's a miracle survivor.'
In an extensive Instagram post accompanying the footage, the skier elaborated on the near-fatal incident. 'Friday 13 [February] was an unlucky and incredibly lucky day for me. I made a very bad and uneducated decision to ski Skimans Couloir just off the Palafour lift in Tignes,' he confessed. He recounted the sensation of being thrown into 'what felt like a washing machine', falling for about 35 seconds over roughly 400 metres before coming to an abrupt stop, utterly trapped.
'I couldn’t move at all. It felt like someone had poured concrete on top of me. I tried not to panic but it was very hard,' he admitted. He expressed profound gratitude for his friends' swift and correct actions, emphasising, 'Luckily I was wearing the right equipment and was with people who know what they were doing. So please wear the right equipment, do training, listen to mother nature and be with people you trust!'
Broader Context of Alpine Avalanche Dangers
This terrifying incident occurred on the same day two other Britons were tragically killed after being swept away by an avalanche while skiing in an off-piste area at the Val d'Isere ski resort in the French Alps. Emergency services responded rapidly but were unable to prevent the fatalities, noting all victims had avalanche transceivers.
These deaths followed a rare, day-long red avalanche alert across the south-eastern Savoie region on the preceding Thursday—a danger level issued only twice before in the 25 years since the system's introduction. Skiers are strongly advised against off-piste skiing when the avalanche danger level exceeds tier three; the area had been under a tier four warning when the group took to the slopes. A day earlier, the avalanche risk had peaked at level five out of five, the first such occurrence in 17 years.
Furthermore, a third British citizen sustained minor injuries from an avalanche on that Friday, while two additional off-piste skiers perished in an avalanche at the Courmayeur resort in Italy on Sunday. Heavy snowfall has recently battered the Alps, with a snow slide derailing in Switzerland on Monday and roads around Mont Blanc being closed or evacuated.
This incident echoes a tragic event from last month, where a British man was among six skiers killed in avalanches in the French Alps. The Englishman, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort. He was located after 50 minutes, buried under eight feet of snow, but could not be revived. Notably, he was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not accompanied by a professional instructor.
