An Australian climber has survived a terrifying avalanche that crashed towards his camp on Mount Everest, and despite the jaw-dropping close call, he is still determined to set a new world record.
Oliver Foran captured the heart-stopping moment on his phone as the massive wall of snow bore down on his camp, 6.5 kilometres above sea level.
“Just the size of it just came and just smashed our tents,” Foran said.
Somehow, Foran and his team escaped the snow tsunami on Wednesday unharmed.
“I was lucky I was recording actually on my phone and I don’t know why I was. I probably should have been like this or something,” he said.
Avalanche Strikes During Record Attempt
The close call comes 43 days into his world record attempt for the fastest climb from sea to summit.
Foran’s journey began with cycling through India during a brutal heatwave, making record time on the trek before suffering altitude sickness that forced him to turn back.
While that setback cost him a week, Foran is still on track to break the record within 66 days and will start his Everest summit push on Saturday.
Climbing for a Cause
He is doing it all for youth mental health charity You Turn and his late mother.
“Mum’s my guardian angel and I can feel her here with me every day,” Foran said, adding that she is making sure he gets to the top.
