Snowboarder Reunites And Hits Slopes With Skier Who Saved His Life Last Month

A snowboarder with a near-death experience recently reunited with the skier who happened upon him at the right time and saved his life. The two new friends took to the same slopes where they met a month ago under scary circumstances to enjoy some skiing and snowboarding together.

While Steger was snowboarding with some friends in early March on Mt. Baker in Washington state, he found himself in serious trouble when he fell backward into a tree well and got buried with snow. With his friends ahead of him, no one witnessed the accident happening to be able to help dig him out of the snow.

"When we entered the trees, they were so narrow that we all found our avenues and lanes. The one I chose happened to have a big tree well in it, a hole that I fell into," Steger told ABC affiliate KOMO-TV. "I was gonna die on my mountain in an area I've ridden hundreds of times."

Luckily, Zuber was in the right place at the right time as he was skiing down the mountain. As he was heading down the hill, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye that ended up being part of Steger's snowboard. Zuber jumped into quick action to assess the situation and started digging Steger out of the snow.

Zuber captured much of the rescue on his GoPro and shared it on Instagram. The video has since gone viral. The footage shows him uncovering an arm, then a hand, and then Steger's face, all while asking him if he's okay and talking him through the rescue.

Once Zuber got the okay from Steger that he was breathing and okay, Zuber took a moment to catch his breath and pulled out a shovel from his backpack to begin digging him out. That's where the footage ends.

Zuber told the Canadian Broadcasting Company that Steger only had minutes left when he arrived on the scene. "We figure [he was buried] somewhere between five and seven minutes; he was probably at either a third or just the halfway point of his possible survival time in there," Zuber told the outlet.

The video's caption on social media begins, "Tree wells are real. If you ski or snowboard, take a moment to watch. This happened a few weeks back at @themtbakerskiarea. I started writing something long about this experience, but I'll save that for another time and let the video speak for itself."

It continued to explain that it's essential to "Take an Avy one course and get trained on what to do if you find yourself in this situation."

In the comment section of the Instagram video, Zuber added, "Just want to thank everyone who has shared this with their ski buddies and for your kind words. One detail I wanted to add that isn't entirely clear in the video is that the buried snowboarder was with a different group. All very experienced riders, carrying proper avy gear and walkies. They took a route through the trees, planning to meet up on the other side, something we've all done countless times. It was a complete chance I came across him."

GoPro took to the comments to call Zuber a "hero" and offer him new gear. "Taking 'Be A HERO' seriously. We're stoked you had us with you to capture this + even more stoked that you were in the right place at the right time. Please check your DMs; we want to hook you up with some gear + a GoPro Award. 🙌"

One of Steger's friends also left a touching comment for the hero. "Thank you for saving my dear friend. When he told me about this, I felt claustrophobic & stressed just hearing it. I wasn't sure I wanted to watch, but I did and was nearly in tears. Thank you so much; words can't express how thankful I am that you spotted him & saved his life. I owe you a million beers. ❤️❤️❤️"

After the incident, Zuber and Steger have become friends and recently reunited on the same mountain they met on just a month ago. Steger shared a photo of the two on Instagram and thanked everyone for their kindness and love.

"Thank you for all the love and support from everyone the past couple of days! It means the world to me. If I haven't gotten back to you, it's not intentional; I'm trying to get through all the texts of love and support. I couldn't feel more loved and cared for," his caption began.

It concluded by saying he was "grateful to be back on the mountain and to get a day in with my new brother." He also thanked him for saving his life.

Zuber commented, "Excited for many more shred days 🙏❤️"

Many others commented about how unique the story is and how grateful everyone is for the happy ending.