Tonight on the finale of Discovery series Hard To Kill, Green Beret-turned MMA champion Tim Kennedy is put to the test to see if he can survive being buried in an avalanche.
Getting caught in an avalanche is often a life-ending event, and the survival rate drops with every minute that passes.
The test sees an Avalanche Control and Rescue team mimic an avalanche with Kennedy buried inside. Will they get him out, and will he be able to stay calm and survive without running out of oxygen?
Avalanche facts from Tim Kennedy
As the footage from the show explains, 90 per cent of avalanche victims are saved if they’re rescued in the first 15 minutes.
The odds of survival drops to 50 percent after another 10 minutes.
By 35 minutes, only 25 percent of avalanche victims will live.
The longer you stay calm the better your chances are of living through this nightmare scenario.
What happens tonight
In Monsters and Critics’ exclusive clip, we see Tim Kennedy as he finds himself at an undisclosed location in the Rocky Mountains where he meets with an Avalanche Control and Rescue team, led by Aaron Brill.
Brill is the guide for Kennedy as he teaches Tim how they manage dangerous drifts and banks of accumulated snow that looks pretty…but can kill faster than you can imagine.
Read our exclusive interview with Tim Kennedy!
Luckily, Kennedy is in a controlled environment with a team to pluck him out if it gets to be too much.
Brill tells Kennedy the plan: “We’re going to put you into this tomb for lack of a better term. Every thirty seconds I’ll give you a radio call and if you don’t reply then we’re coming to get you. A reply could be just a breaker squelch or an ‘I’m good.'”
As Kennedy is placed in this grave of snow, Brill adds: “You are going to get cold, really cold!”
Kennedy cautions viewers to take this seriously. “This exercise is among the most challenging and difficult training sessions I have ever undertaken.” In a separate studio shot, Kennedy adds: “This is a marathon, not a sprint.”
As viewers are aware, Kennedy is a fit and trained athlete whose capabilities are enormous and defy most average men. But can he fight the effects of high altitude and survive being buried alive to prove he is up to joining Aaron and his team?
Hard to Kill has shown the Army Ranger, Green Beret, and Special Forces sniper travelling to a different location each week to experience some of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.
Last week’s episode saw him blow up an improvised explosive device made of toilet roll and fuel.
Hard to Kill airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Discovery