A Swiss skier adept off-piste that has survived by "miracle" for seventeen hours after being buried by an avalanche in the Alps, recounted his ordeal Monday, regretting having made a "reckless risk". A snow slide took Cedric Genoud, 21, when he was skiing Saturday afternoon, a sunny slope near the ski station of Evolène (south-west of Switzerland). The young man who had forgotten his transceiver for detecting avalanche victims, had his head buried in the snow, but able to make some head movements, which allowed him to breathe until his rescue early Sunday. "I couldn't move my arms or my legs (...) I was like a sarcophagus, it was like concrete around me," he told the press. During the night, at about 2,000 meters above sea level, he was able to hydrate himself by eating snow. Even if the rest of his body was under 50 centimeters of snow, his head was close to the surface, which enabled him to perceive the changes of brightness and the arrival of the night. "I screamed a lot," he said. But it was in vain: Soon after midnight, rescuers had to interrupt the search, fearing to provoke a new avalanche. He was awake all night because of severe pain in the hip. "I told myself that I should not give up, it was just a fight against myself, I had to do this for people who love me, my family", he told reporters. Not until Sunday at dawn that an helicopter flying over the area spotted the grey helmet of the young man who moved slightly. Rescuers were immediately sent to the the scene and called in reinforcements. "They found me right away, I do not know at all how they did it. It was one of the most exciting minutes of my life", said the skier, who was suffering from hypothermia, but was conscious, to the surprise of rescuers. "I realize that I took a risk reckless and childish". The recent snowfalls and relatively mild temperatures provoque a high risk of avalanche. Everyone agrees that survive 17 hours with his face buried in the snow is extraordinary, it's a miracle!!! Normally, an avalanche victim dies choking, injured or hypothermic 15 to 20 minutes after being buried. "Because he was not injured, he could focus all his energy on his body warming. He also had a very big desire to get out of there alive" said the doctor who treated him, Marc-Andre Schaepfler. Le Dauphiné
