Video: Downhill skiers hit tremendous speeds as they race down a mountain, but it still isn’t fast enough to outrun an avalanche. Fortunately for Maxence Cavalade, the parachute he was using to speedride down Mont Charvet in France carried him to safety and probably saved his life.
It’s worth pointing out that the avalanche was undoubtedly triggered by Cavalade’s snow-shredding antics – it wasn’t necessarily a “wrong place at the wrong time” scenario. But his terrifying aerial footage of the avalanche also reveals the tracks of countless other ski runs, so he probably he assumed the mountain wasn’t primed for disaster that day. (We have no idea if he tested the snow for avalanche conditions ahead of this run.)
Still, the gamble paid off, whether he knew he was making it or not. I wonder what other dangerous sports could benefit from the addition of parachutes?