A man is lucky to be alive after a 500-metre wide avalanche struck The Remarkables mountain range in Otago.
It's thought the man's movements triggered the snowfall, but he managed to hold on to a rock on the mountain as the snow shifted around him.
"The man was in the back country of The Remarkables and roughly a 500 metre wide avalanche has come down. [He was] on the edge of and managed to hold onto a rock until the avalanche had largely passed," says a spokesperson for New Zealand Mountain Safety Council.
The Council says conditions remain dangerous on the mountain and people are being urged to check the Avalanche Advisory website before travelling in alpine areas.
The event occurred 2000 metres up the mountain range and punched through the ice layer on top of Lake Alta, according to the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council.
Newshub.
