Sydney skier gets trapped under avalanche

A Sydney skier has told of the terrifying moment he was buried under more than 2m of snow during an avalanche while skiing in the Swiss alps.

Dan O’Sullivan and James Mort, both 20, were skiing with a group of friends on January 30 when the terrifying moment occurred.

Mr Sullivan filmed the moment with a Go Pro mounted on his helmet, including the moment as he realised he had survived the fall unscathed but couldn’t find any trace of his mate.

“My heart is racing I’m thinking where is he? He has got to be under here I have to find him,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Mr Mort had been completely buried under about 2m of snow but managed to save himself with a bit of quick thinking.

“The last thing I did was threw my hand up in the air reached up in the air with my ski pole,” Mr Mort said.

The action – along with moving his head around to give himself enough space to breath – saved his life.

Luckily the skiers were aware of the dangers of avalanches and came prepared with a shovel and a probe.

After digging in the freezing snow the group managed to recover Mr Mort.

“Probably the best feeling of my life was when I saw the tip of his helmet than I knew , ‘thank god we’ve bloody found him’,” Mr O’Sullivan said.