Jason Parker was snowboarding at Palisades Tahoe on Wednesday when an avalanche erupted on the mountain, burying him underneath feet of snow and killing one man.
It was the first day the KT-22 chairlift was open at the ski resort in Olympic Valley, California, and Parker and his fiancée both had a day off, so, despite the low visibility and strong winds, they decided to hit the slopes.
When they reached the peak of KT-22, Parker and his partner turned right and had a successful trip down the mountain. They then went back up to do it again, but this time, around 9:25 a.m. local time, they went to the left.
Parker, 52, an experienced skier and snowboarder with 35 years under his belt, headed down the mountain first with his partner trailing. Eventually, he said, he felt some "slough come by me," which was "nothing to worry about."
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"Five seconds later, that's when the avalanche hit me," Parker said. "It swept me off my feet, threw me onto my back."
He tried to stay above the avalanche, something he had learned from training, he said, but the river of snow began accelerating and "it just covered me up and there was nothing I could do." Parker described feeling like he was stuck in a "tub of concrete" under about 4 feet of snow, unable to move or get himself out in any way.
