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Calgary man’s escape from avalanche caught on camera

Click to play video: 'Calgary man runs from avalanche in Rockies'
Calgary man runs from avalanche in Rockies
WATCH ABOVE: It was a close call for a Calgary man in the mountains over the weekend: out for a run with his family when an avalanche hit. He began running from the snow as fast as he could, recording it all on his phone. Gil Tucker reports. – Dec 9, 2019

A wall of white — that’s what Bryon Howard saw coming toward him on Friday evening when he was out for a family run at Lake Louise.

Howard was running just ahead of his wife and son — not far from Chateau Lake Louise — when an avalanche was triggered above.

“There’s this wall of snow barrelling towards me,” Howard said Monday. “And so that’s when I started to run.”

Howard said he was running hard and at one point felt he was starting to be engulfed by the force of snow getting closer and closer.

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Howard’s son Jacob said the sound of the avalanche was very loud.

“I could see snow falling down the hill,” Jacob said. “And so I was like, ‘Oh no, I hope my parents aren’t too far ahead of me. It seemed dangerous.”

Howard posted the video of the incident — which he said was all over within about 90 seconds — on avalanche.ca to make others aware and take precautions when exploring and taking in the Rocky Mountains.

According to Michael Schoemaker of Canadian Scrambling and Mountaineering, the avalanche didn’t appear to be a large one, however, it still could have injured or buried someone.

“It was crazy to experience that,” Howard said. “Next time, it’s obvious that runners — trail runners — have to be cautious of the dangers of mountain environments.”

–With files from Global News’ Gil Tucker

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