Avalanche in Kyrgyzstan: the story behind Harry Shimmin’s video

What happened on 8 July 2022

A guided trekking group was hiking in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan when ice broke off a glacier above a valley. The group included nine people from the UK and one from the USA. One of them, Harry Shimmin, had moved away from the others shortly before to take photos.

Shimmin heard ice cracking behind him and pointed his camera at the slope. The video shows a cloud of snow, ice and debris pushing across the plain and coming ever closer. Only at the last moment does he duck behind a rock. Then the picture goes dark as the snow passes over him.

Sources: Video captures moment avalanche hits British tourists in Kyrgyzstan mountains · Insane Kyrgyzstan Avalanche Footage Shows Moment Camera Operator Takes Cover

How the group escaped

All members of the group survived, and nobody was seriously injured. Shimmin himself was unhurt and afterwards was covered only by a thin layer of snow. He later wrote that it only became clear to them in hindsight how lucky they had been: had they walked five minutes further, the avalanche would have hit them with full force.

Shimmin explained that he stayed standing for so long because he was right next to the only cover nearby. He said he was initially focused on getting a good video and didn’t expect the avalanche to come so close.

Sources: Incredible video shows hiker caught in Kyrgyzstan avalanche · Video captures moment avalanche hits British tourists in Kyrgyzstan mountains

Key facts at a glance

The following details come from reports about the group and from Shimmin’s own statements to the media.

Sources: Insane Kyrgyzstan Avalanche Footage Shows Moment Camera Operator Takes Cover · Incredible video shows hiker caught in Kyrgyzstan avalanche

What the video shows and what it doesn’t

The video is genuine and well documented. However, it shows only part of the picture: how far the main flow of the avalanche actually was from the group cannot be read precisely from a single phone camera. Much of what passed over Shimmin was the powder cloud of snow and ice, not the actual mass.

That is precisely why the video is no proof that you can film an avalanche. Rather, it is an example of how quickly a seemingly distant danger can come close. Anyone travelling in glacier areas follows the mountain guides’ instructions and does not stay below icefalls longer than necessary.

Sources: Video captures moment avalanche hits British tourists in Kyrgyzstan mountains

The post on our TikTok channel

We published the video on our TikTok channel @pribblymedia with credit to the source. By early November 2026, it had been played more than 350,000 times. This article adds background and sources that don’t fit into a short caption.

Sources: Avalanche in Kyrgyzstan (TikTok post by @pribblymedia)