The Life-Changing Impact Of An Avalanche

With his recovery, resilience and redefinition of his limits, Marian Veith, 34, from Munich, is proof of what can be achieved with grit and determination after the physical, let alone mental trauma, of being caught in a serious life-changing avalanche.

But his story of the day, two years ago, when he was swept down the mountain by an avalanche while skiing off piste in Austria with his friend Dominik is, also, a warning. Many of us ski off piste and in the backcountry, and thankfully without accident, but hands up who doesn't fear the danger of being caught in an avalanche?

And wonder would we be able to pull the trigger on our avalanche bag? Would survival instincts kick in? And would we be able to contact mountain rescue?

Here's what it was like for Marian caught in the avalanche (warning, a gruelling read) and his recovery (heads up, an inspiring read):

SA. Can you give us an idea of the conditions on 4th February, 2022 when you were skiing off piste with your mate, Dominik? Where exactly were you skiing?

M. We were skiing at Lermoos in Tyrol. I’ve been there dozens of times before, because there is a backbowl with some hidden couloirs right next to the actual ski resort that you can access by gondola and that usually still have really good untracked snow even a couple of days after the last snowfall.

The avalanche danger was a 3 that day and the snow was actually a lot worse than expected. Partly wind blown, partly icy.

SA. Were you aware of any signs such as an unstable snowpack, warmer temperatures, angle of slope, anything that could cause an avalanche?

M. Not really to be honest. Of course the couloirs are steep so there was always the abstract danger of avalanches but I didn’t see any slides anywhere.

I had skied there in more dangerous conditions

The snowpack seemed pretty stable and I thought I had skied there in more dangerous conditions before. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but since some of the runs are below the tree line, we had actually even skied there when avalanche danger was at the highest level without problems.

SA. And, how often had you skied off piste in that area before to be familiar with the terrain?

M. I had skied there at least 30 times over the years so I knew the terrain well.

SA. If it's not too traumatic to remember, can you describe what it was like being caught in the avalanche?

M. Well, I’ll try to describe it so y’all don’t have to find out how it feels. I’d compare it to a rollercoaster ride. I got into the avalanche, my feet were swept away immediately so I was lying in the snow. In the first two or three seconds, everything was relatively calm as I was still picking up speed.

 I wasn’t able to breathe anymore

Next, I was pulled down into the avalanche. That’s when things were starting to become very scary, as I wasn’t able to breathe anymore and I began to lose orientation as well as my sense of time.

Being in the avalanche felt like being thrown into a laundromat on steroids. I was tumbling around, snow was being pressed into my mouth, I hit rocks and other debris in the avalanche, my arms and legs were all pulled in different directions, I lost my skis and poles so to summarise it's just a very brutal experience.

 I suddenly felt like I was falling down a cliff

The worst part was still to come however, as I suddenly felt like I was falling down a cliff or something. I still don’t know what it was exactly as everything around me was absolutely dark but when I hit the ground, I felt an excruciating pain in my lower body.

I started to do swimming motions

Shortly thereafter, my survival instincts kicked in and I started to do swimming motions to get back to the surface - luckily it actually worked and I got back to the surface after a couple of moments. The avalanche was still sliding down the mountain at a pretty high speed heading towards a little forest area.

I hit a tree and that collision finally stopped me

Next thing I know was I hit a tree and that collision finally stopped me. Luckily I was only partly buried and was able to breathe.

SA. You were obviously fully-equipped with safety gear including an avalanche bag. What happened when you pulled the trigger?

M. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even able to pull the trigger since everything was happening so fast. I grabbed it but it somehow slipped out of my hand and after the first try, I was already pulled down into the avalanche, where it was virtually impossible to get a hold of the trigger.

SA. What actually saved you from being buried?

M. A mix of Iuck, instincts and awareness of the situation - I think if hadn’t thought of the swimming motions I would have probably ended up buried.

SA. When you were flung against a tree, did you realise how seriously you were injured?

M. Right after I finally stopped moving, I noticed that my right leg was bent 180 degrees sideways and my ski boot was right next to my face. I knew straight away that it was very serious. I wasn’t sure, whether my leg was still connected to my body at all.

SA. How did you get rescued?

M. Since my phone was destroyed when I collided with the tree, I immediately shouted to Domi that I need an airlift asap. Luckily the helicopter showed up fairly quick and the first responders acted brilliantly.

If it wasn’t for the helicopter crew, I wouldn’t be here today>

The helicopter couldn’t land at the site, because the terrain was too steep so they were winched down, they retrieved me from the little forest, put me on the stretcher and pulled me up to the helicopter and off to the hospital we flew.

Without a doubt, if it wasn’t for the helicopter crew, I wouldn’t be here today. Absolute legends!

SA. How long was your recovery? Physically? And mentally?

M. I was in the hospital for about eight weeks but had many more surgeries after that. You never fully recover from such an accident but I started walking again four months after the accident.

Mentally it’s kind of hard to tell because it’s a constant up and down but my mental state got a lot better when I got out of the wheelchair and was able to start walking again.

SA. After getting back on your skateboard with a prosthetic leg and even running using a blade, you also had the goal to get back on snow. What made snowboarding the best choice?

My left leg was also injured pretty badly

M. During the accident, my left leg was also injured pretty badly, tearing my ACL, MCL, PCL and a tendon, so snowboarding turned out to be the better option for me from a medical point of view. It allows me to manage my balance and pressure more effectively with my prosthetic leg.

I would never be able to get back to the same level

Matter of fact, many amputees find that snowboarding is a better fit for them—it’s easier to adapt to the movement.

Lastly, I wanted to have a fresh start. I’ve been skiing all my life and obviously, I would never be able to get back to the same level, so before and after comparisons would be inevitable and I was a little scared that this would frustrate me too much.

SA. And how does it feel with your prosthetic leg?

M. It’s so much fun - I've been snowboarding three times so far and I got better every time. Being back in the mountains just feels right and I can’t wait for the winter to finally start.

SA. How hard is it mentally to be back on snow. What about going off piste again?

M. I was a little tense on the way to the ski resort, but when I finally put on my board, trying the first turns, I was 100 percent focused on the task at hand and all doubts vanished.

 I make sure to take one step at a time

I can generally see myself riding off piste again in the future, but I need to get a lot better at snowboarding for that first, so I make sure to take one step at a time and not to think too far ahead. There’s a time and a place for that, but I’m not there yet.

SA. Did you have any ambition to compete professionally skiing before your accident?

M. I did ski racing until I was 14, but I discovered free skiing around that time and fell in love with it straight away. I quit ski racing and started skiing park a lot. I did competitions for a couple of years and started to pick up some wins after a while, got some sponsors.

So I definitely had the ambition to go pro but that didn't work out and I was fine with it, because that was never what it was all about.

SA. And how about now, snowboarding in the Winter Paralympics 2026 or 2030?

M. I would love to. Hopefully my body will still allow me to perform at the necessary level. I can’t wait to give it a try!

You can watch my journey of recovery since the skiing accident in four episodes of New Boundaries.

Watch the first episode: