Avalanche man back on slopes

An Australian who was entombed in snow while heli-skiing in Canterbury hit the slopes again this weekend.

John Castran, 53, and his son Angus, 23, arrive home in Melbourne today after an "uneventful" heli-skiing expedition turned to terror.

They were caught in an avalanche on Friday on the Ragged Range near Methven.

Another man, Llynden Riethmuller, 61, of Sydney could not be revived after being dug from snow.

Castran yesterday relived the horror of the avalanche. "I just went down and did some turns and the next thing I knew the snowfield all around me was just opening up," he said.

Castran tried to ski to safety by heading towards a knoll to his right but he underestimated the speed the snow was rushing down.

Castran, who has been skiing for 40 years and heli-skiing for about 20, was trapped for between 10 and 15 minutes in 1.8 metres of snow.

He was only able to move his tongue to push the snow away from his lips.

"All I had was blackness and I couldn't move," Castran said.

Once Castran got over his anxiety he said he felt at peace before losing consciousness.

Angus and the guide activated tracking beacons to find Castran. They used a pole and shovel to dig him out, before the guide performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Less than 24 hours after his ordeal, Castran hit the slopes again, and said the incident would not deter him from heli-skiing.

A large avalanche yesterday near a ski field in Queenstown's Remarkables has highlighted the risk level in the back country, a skifield spokesman says.

No one was harmed in the avalanche, rated at level 3.5 out of 5, though a snowboarder had been in the area shortly before it happened.

The cascading wall of snow would have been big enough to collapse houses if they were in the way, the spokesman said.

- AAP