A dramatic video has emerged of a snowboarder getting swiped by an avalanche as he goes down a slope in Colorado.

The footage, shot late last year near Denver, USA, captures the moment a layer of snow starts tumbling down the mountain as the snowboarder rides the slide.

Although the avalanche caught up with him he managed to swim back to the surface of the snow.

"I immediately relaxed as I got buried, as I have trained myself to do from years of surfing, but quickly realized that I would need to swim to the top to get anymore breaths of air," he wrote online.

"Quickly got to the surface and rode away unharmed," he added.

Was out riding the back country of Colorado near Denver with a couple friends. This is an area that is known to be risky for avalanches but we had all of our safety equipment so we went after it anyway. My friend set off the first slide you can see to the side but rode out no problem . I went next and fell at the bottom of the slope due to a crust layer that was hard to dig into with my edge. I immediately relaxed as I got buried, as I have trained myself to do from years of surfing, but quickly realized that I would need to swim to the top to get anymore breaths of air. Quickly got to the surface and rode away unharmed. Closecall and a reminder to always be weary of avalanche danger!