There was a massive avalanche sliding down through the valley.
I felt this huge wave of snow. I was screaming and they couldn't hear me.
I realised that they probably weren't going to find me.
Hoping for a body-sized shape. She had purple lips.
She wasn't breathing. I thought she was dead.
After university, I decided to do a ski season.
I ended up going to Ischgl in Austria.
I got a job as a rep.
That was such a dream come true,
to be able to have these incredible slopes.
My closest friend on my season was Gordon.
Rhianna is really energetic.
She's a lot of fun to be around.
She loves a good wild party.
She's so enthusiastic about getting up, having a good day's skiing.
It was a bluebird day.
Clear blue skies and about half a metre of fresh powder,
which is pretty much a skier's dream.
I dragged Gordon out of bed.
We went up the mountain, started skiing, and for us,
the number one thing to do is ski off the piste.
Off-piste is... Basically, it's uncontrolled.
What everyone's looking for is, like, nice, fresh, soft powder.
But it's also where all the danger is.
We were getting on the lift and came across another four of our friends.
It was actually my idea to be, like, "Hey, guys,
"why don't we go to Death Valley?"
Which was an area we'd nicknamed
because it was a bit prone to avalanches.
I was at the front. One of them overtook me.
Then I was re-overtaking him and we collided and tumbled.
I felt this huge wave of snow wash over me.
It kept going and going and going, and that carried me down the slope.
I was just perched on the side.
I heard a noise and there was a massive avalanche sliding down
through the valley.
Avalanches are caused when a layer of snow
breaks loose from the mountain beneath it.
They can be triggered by the smallest impact,
often by those caught in them.
Avoid skiing off-piste or mountain hiking after heavy snow
and always check avalanche risk.
If it is three or more, seriously consider changing your plans.
I then tried to move and I couldn't. I was a metre under.
There was literally no space whatsoever to breathe.
It was kind of like having a cloth over your mouth.
The main cause of death from an avalanche is suffocation.
As you're falling, move your hands in front of your face
to make an air pocket before the avalanche comes to a stop.
This will give you more oxygen and increase your chances
of survival.
We started gathering people together.
Turns out we had everyone apart from Rhianna.
The first thing we thought was, "Let's try calling her."
Got the phone out, give her a call.
I started screaming, um, and I could faintly see which way was up.
My phone started ringing, but because I was frozen in position
I couldn't get to it, and they couldn't hear me.
And that's when I kind of realised
that they probably weren't going to find me.
My sister was the last thing I thought of.
My sister is my favourite person in the whole world
and my best friend ever.
I remember thinking that and then just let myself go,
and I just let the darkness close in.
If buried under snow,
your chances of survival drop fast after 15 minutes.
If you think someone is buried, call for help.
Some ski resorts list the local rescue number on your ski pass.
She wasn't answering. We were like, "We need to start looking for her."
Gordon needs to place a marker on the last place he saw Rhianna.
Avalanches move like fresh water.
By searching downwards from the marker,
Gordon can assess the terrain and follow the most likely flow
of the snow.
He needs to scan the area for any signs of life.
It was taking a long time, hoping for a body-sized shape.
Because I was a skier, I had ski poles and could use them
sort of like probes, but the other guys, being snowboarders,
didn't even have anything to dig into the snow to look for her.
She'd been under for somewhere in the region of 30 minutes
and I was like, "This is too long.
"I'm not sure if she'd actually survive this."
We'd found a few false alarms and then Jim shouted,
"I've found something!" He goes, "It's Rhianna!"
We all rushed over, started digging, and I dug out
Rhianna's face, which was just, like, pure white
and she had purple lips and she wasn't breathing.
I thought she was dead.
Use your ski equipment or a snow shovel to break through
the densely packed snow.
Dig out the person as much as you can.
Make sure their airways are open and not obstructed.
If they're not breathing, put your thumbs on their cheeks
and your fingers under their jaw bone and lift up.
This helps keep their airways open.
Look, listen and feel for ten seconds.
If they're not breathing, start mouth to mouth and CPR.
We basically dug out just enough to start giving her CPR.
After doing it for a little while, I was thinking,
"It's not working. She is dead.
"This situation has gone as badly as it possibly could."
SHE GASPS Can you hear me? Rhianna?
She sort of made a bit of a rasping noise
like she'd started to breathe again.
Just an overwhelming sense of relief, like, when we realised
that she was actually breathing.
Focus on keeping the person warm to prevent further heat loss.
When I woke up, I wasn't quite sure what was going on.
I was just dealing with the fact that I was incredibly cold.
I came over and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Then she turned around and said, "Don't kiss me!"
I was like, "Yeah, this is definitely Rhianna.
"She's fine after all!"
The avalanche has had all kinds of impacts on me, and being deprived
of oxygen for that amount of time is bound to have sort of repercussions.
My whole body just sort of stopped functioning
as well as it should, and I feel that I've maybe sort of aged it
quite significantly.
The more time I have, the more I look back and realise
how incredibly lucky I was.
I feel incredibly grateful towards not just Gordon but all the boys.
Because of that day, every year she goes out of her way to thank us
for giving her what she calls a second chance at life.
The avalanche has not put me off skiing.
I'm definitely more cautious off-piste.
If there's even the slightest chance I'll go off-piste,
I have my transceiver, which emits a signal.
Everybody should also always have a shovel and a probe.
And then I have an air bag which, you pull a handle
and it keeps you above the snow and so you don't get buried.
Avalanche gear is quite expensive, but ultimately,
what price is your life?
Life is really short and it can, at any moment,
be taken away from you.
So you need to spend it doing things you want to do and that you enjoy.
And I think it's something that I live my life by today.