GoPro footage captures avalanche trapping snowboarder on California mountain
STUDIO CITY, Calif. -- GoPro video captured the moment when a 12-year-old California girl became encased in snow as an avalanche barreled down Mammoth Mountain over the weekend, CBS Los Angeles reports. The girl -- who only disclosed her first name, Eleana -- was with family and friends on a snowboarding trip when the avalanche struck.
She was going down on her first run with her GoPro attached to her helmet when she says halfway down the mountain a lift worker saw the wall of snow coming.
"He like went all crazy," Eleana said. "He was like, 'Uh oh, there's a big avalanche coming down. Run.'"
But the problem was that Eleana was adjusting her boot with one foot off her board and could hardly move.
"Everyone started running, but I couldn't because I was in the snow. So I just ended up ducking down," said Eleana.
She said bits of snow and rock were pelting her.
"I kind of started yelling help like hoping that someone would come over and help me to move fast, but the avalanche was going too quick so I just kind of ducked under," said Eleana.
The GoPro video shows people coming to her rescue. She was checked out by paramedics and got the all clear.
At some point, conditions were barely visible on the mountain.
Eleana says she knows she's lucky. Eight other people were partially buried in the avalanche. They all suffered minor injuries.
She says folks from the resort used her video to help them learn more about what happened that day.
And despite the possible danger, she says she will snowboard again.
"When the avalanche finished and I could see everything again, I knew I was going to be okay," said Eleana.