Drone Pilot Captures Huge Avalanche Up Close in Canada

An FPV drone pilot captured cinematic footage of an enormous avalanche in British Columbia on Vancouver Island.

Mactac has been mountain surfing in the picturesque part of Canada and was packing up for the day when he spotted tons of snow rushing down a nearby mountain.

First-person view (FPV) mountain surfing is the art of flying an FPV racing quad down the side of a mountain almost “surfing” it like a wave.

“We were out for a day of long-range mountain surfing in British Columbia on Vancouver Island with our long-range drones, hoping to get some nice cinematic footage,” Mactac explains on his YouTube channel.

“There was a ‘severe avalanche warning’ a couple of days prior, but things seemed to have calmed down. Just when we were getting ready to leave, I looked up and saw a huge avalanche coming down the mountain right in front of us!

“I scrambled to get a battery on my drone, fumbled with my GoPro, and booked it out towards the mountain as fast as I possibly could.

“I got there just in time to see an absolutely scary amount of snow hitting the bottom of the mountain. What looks like water is actually a huge amount of snow, with some chucks as big as my truck.”

The snowslide does behave like a waterfall and it is a true spectacle to see in 4K cinematic footage. As the drone makes its way up the mountain you get a sense of the awesome power of the avalanche.

Mactac, who posted the footage yesterday, uses a Camera Butter 8 Cinema ONE 7-inch frame with a custom front that helps him get shot extremely close to the ground. The camera he uses is a GoPro Bones Hero 10.

“This is National Geographic level work, man. So well done and amazing timing. I hope this helps to elevate your drone career,” says one commentator on his YouTube channel.

“That was amazing, something few will ever see in their lifetimes. Thank you!”

More of Mactac’s work can be seen on his YouTube channel and Instagram.


Image credits: All photos courtesy of Mactac.

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