Insane moment skier in Japan falls into ‘hidden’ waterfall

A skier navigating the slopes in Japan has filmed the terrifying moment he plunged down a hidden waterfall and left “fighting for his life”.

The insane moment a skier in Japan plunged six metres into a hidden waterfall has been caught on camera.

New Zealand man Sean Toms was navigating a slope in Hokkaido, Japan, when he fell down a snow-covered waterfall to a depth of six metres.

The terrifying moment was caught on his helmet camera, which saw the terrifying moment unfold from start to finish.

The moment the skier plunged 6 metres into a hidden waterfall

After tumbling down the cavity, Mr Toms was able to pull himself out of the hole, despite water from the natural hot spring gushing down the rocky ledge.

The video, which has been viewed more than 370k times, was shared on the man’s Instagram page.

“How not to ski the Hokkaido back-country with Sean,” Mr Toms captioned the video.

“Volume up for panic noises. Super lucky to walk away from this one with no injures. Great learning on the unique hazards that Japan has to offer, at least the water was warm.

“Stay safe out there, especially skiing alone.”

The man was lucky to walk away without injury.

The video received thousands of comments from shocked viewers.

“The fact that he didn’t break both his legs on impact is an absolute miracle,” one commented.

“Japan and their sneaky creeks and streams are no joke! They truly come out of no where without any notice. So Scary!” another added.

“One minute, you’re having fun. Next minute, you’re fighting for your life.”

During the last ski season, local and ski resorts across Japan issued a warning for back-country skiers after recording a spate of accidents and stranded skiers.

As a result, resorts warned skiers, who had flocked to Japan following relaxed Covid-19 entry requirements for tourists, that going off-track without a guide is dangerous, costly and can even be fatal.

According to local media and the National Police Agency data, 61 of 111 sightseers from outside Japan who got lost in the mountains in 2018 were back-country skiing. The next year it was 50 of 103 and then 31 of 42 in 2020.

Nagano (a ski region in Japan) prefectural police said 22 people went missing in back-country areas in 2022.