A Queenstown snowboarder has been left seriously injured after being caught in an avalanche at Ben Lomond Peak in the Queenstown area.
The man was airlifted to Lakes District Hospital after he fell 200 metres down the south east side of the peak on Friday morning.
He was with another man on a private ski tour when he was partially buried in the avalanche, Queenstown SAR coordinator Constable Julian Cahill said.
The man was dug out of the snow by his friend.
Mr Cahill said he was "very lucky".
"If he had gone over a bluff and donked his head, he'd be dead."
Emergency services were alerted to reports of an avalanche earlier on Friday.
The Ben Lomond Peak is 1748m high. The track to the summit is a popular tramping and walking track.
Newshub.
