By In a heart-stopping incident captured on helmet camera footage, two quick-thinking skiers rescued a man who was buried face-down and suffocating under several feet of deep powder at Palisades Tahoe resort.
The dramatic rescue unfolded during near-whiteout conditions on an advanced run between the KT-22 and Olympic Lady lifts. Carson Schmidt, a skier from Sacramento, and a friend were on their first run of the day when they paused unexpectedly in heavy snowfall and low visibility.
“For whatever reason we stopped and happened to just see tips of the skis in the whiteout and luckily we did,” Schmidt later said.
What they noticed were ski tips protruding straight up from the snow. Realizing a skier was buried beneath the surface, the pair rushed over and began digging frantically with their hands.
The 75-second helmet-cam video shows them clearing roughly four feet of unconsolidated powder before uncovering the skier, who was completely submerged and upside down.
NEW: Two skiers save the life of a man who was suffocating under snow after getting stuck at Palisades Tahoe resort in California.
The skiers were seen stopping in the powder before noticing a ski sticking out of the snow.
“For whatever reason we stopped and happen to just see… pic.twitter.com/MuoN7GfMAI
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 26, 2026
When they pulled him free, the man was blue and in shock, gasping for air. He reportedly asked about his wife before skiing away under his own power to reunite with her. The rescuers did not learn his identity or how long he had been trapped but said he was able to leave safely.
Schmidt described the moment as instinctive: “You just kind of go into go mode and just dig.”
He emphasized that the burial was not caused by an avalanche or a tree well but by the sheer depth of the powder.
“Doesn’t have to be an avalanche or a tree well to get buried when it’s that deep,” Schmidt said. “Just want it to be a reminder to ski safe and ski with a buddy. Everybody needs to be aware. When you go out in that deep snow, you need to ski with a partner. You need to be trained. You need to have beacon, shovel, probe. You need to have all the right stuff.”
The footage, originally posted to Schmidt’s Instagram account and later amplified widely on social media, quickly garnered millions of views and praise for the rescuers’ swift action.
Safety experts warn that snow immersion suffocation remains a serious risk in heavy powder, even on in-bounds terrain, particularly when skiers fall headfirst and cannot create an air pocket or right themselves.
