[imagesource: Instagram / Harry Shimmin]

Harry Shimmin, one of 10 people on a trekking tour in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan, is incredibly lucky to be alive.

Remarkably, the British tourist and his fellow trekkers came out unscathed after a massive avalanche raced over them from the mountains they were just about to climb.

Shimmin uploaded the chilling footage to Instagram, commenting how when they reached the highest point in the trek, he had separated from the group to take pictures on the edge.

That’s when he heard the “sound of deep ice cracking” behind him, but instead of finding a safe place ASAP, Shimmin decided to take the ultimate risk and watch as the snow barrelled towards him.

Behold:

Shimmin’s shimmy behind the rock as the snow gathered around him apparently felt like “being inside a blizzard”, with an intense adrenaline rush and giddiness hitting shortly afterwards when he realised he was fine.

Everyone else was alright, too, bar one American lady who had cut her knee pretty badly but was also able to laugh later at their sheer luck.

Frighteningly, the group had been scheduled to walk the path of the avalanche, and if they had walked five minutes further on their trek, they “would all be dead”.

Read Shimmin’s full account on Instagram:

 

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A post shared by Harry Shimmin (@harryshimmin)

The group did end up traversing the area that could have led to their demise, which Shimmin reflected on, sharing a few snaps too, in a separate post:

 

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A post shared by Harry Shimmin (@harryshimmin)

What an experience.

[source:guardian]