This is the heartstopping moment a skier fell into a glacier crevasse but managed to survive without any injuries after landing on a ledge.

While skiing the glacier at La Girose in France, one of the members of the mountain sports team Les Powtos fell through the powder and into a hole below.

Pulsating viral footage captured the skier desperately trying to climb out of the crevasse only to keep slipping down into the darkness.

Fortunately after a couple of seconds his skis became caught on a ledge where he stayed before being successfully rescued after a tense 20 minutes.

A spokesperson for Les Powtos said: “We were really very lucky. It was the longest 20 minutes of our lives as we were far away on the ski lift and had to wait to be high enough to be able to rescue him.

“We had done a lot of descents on the glacier and in the euphoria one of our teammates got tricked by a crevasse at the last moment.

“He tried to avoid it but he fell straight into it and slides until he is stopped.

“We were all equipped with a shovel, harness, ice screws and ice axes but our friend was able to start getting out alone while waiting for us to join him to secure him with a rope.

“Fortunately there were no injuries. He even returned to make another descent right after.

“We thought that sharing experience couldn't be bad. The video is really scary but hopefully it helps with prevention.

“He is an experienced mountaineer who has practiced several times a week for more than 10 years. The rider who fell into the crevasse was very well equipped.”