Skier Miraculously Survives 1,600 Foot Fall

A skier is lucky to be alive when he toppled 1,600 feet down a sheer mountain face after losing his footing in the snow.

Heart-stopping video footage captured Ian McIntosh's incredible escape as he rolled uncontrollably down the Neacola mountain range in Alaska, crying out in pain each time his body is bashed on the ground. onlookers watch in horror as Ian tumbles at speed, losing his ski equipment along the way.

But amazingly, the lucky skier sits straight back up at the end of his terrifying fall, shouting: "I'm OK, I'm OK!"

Afterwards, Ian said that he had fallen into a five foot-deep trench on one of his first turns which had caused him to lose his balance "From there, my slough took over and there was no way to stop, I pulled my airbag to help prevent against any possible trauma injuries as I tumbled to the bottom," he said.

But as he desperately attempted to regain his footing, Ian carried on falling, cartwheeling a terrifying 1,600ft in under a minute.

The extent of his injuries after the fall are not detailed.


Professional skier Ian McIntosh survived a 1600 foot fall from Alaska's Neacola mountain range and walked away unharmed. He recaps the death defying fall with ABC News' TJ Holmes on Nightline.