A video of a person skiing down streets of Oregon that were left frozen from the recent ice storms that swept across the state has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by @agroupoffriendsor and has had 2.6 million views since it was first shared on January 17. A message overlaid on the video says “Portland Ice Storm 2024.” According to a later comment by the poster, the video was shot in Beaverton, a city located in the Portland metropolitan area.
The footage shows a man wearing skis, holding what appears to be a selfie-camera stick with one hand in front of him, while sliding down an ice-covered driveway outside a home.
The video shows him speeding down empty icy roads, twisting and turning his skis before skiing backwards at one point, while maneuvering the camera stick around his body. A caption shared with the post simply says: “One of those neighborhood laps.”
The latest post comes as ice storms devastated Oregon earlier this month, killing several people, while dozens of trees were damaged and downed.
According to the Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office, at least 15 deaths were caused by potential hypothermia or other weather-related emergencies between January 12 and 19, Portland’s KOIN television station reported on January 26.
The City of Portland website said on January 22 that more than a week of wind, snow and ice around the Portland area left thousands of people without power and “many are dealing with stressful, severe property damage,” while “at least a dozen people in our community died…”
KOIN reported on Sunday that weeks after the snow and ice storm, a half-million Portland residents were without power and some of those who were displaced by the storm are still waiting to get back home.
Dense fog and wind advisories have been issued in parts of Oregon by the National Weather Service (NWS).
The NWS said: “Moisture returns to the Northwest overnight Monday, producing
light rain over parts of the Pacific Northwest into Wednesday morning.”
‘Crazy’
TikTok users were blown away by the ski footage in the latest viral clip.
User poe said: “No helmet on ice is crazy.”
Skyhop2 agreed, saying “No helmet you are a brave one.”
User ezg_94 noted: “That looks like a nice 3 hour track back up the mountain…definitely worth it.”
Several wondered how the skier managed to stop himself in his tracks and climb back up to his home after skiing down frozen streets.
User sue k wondered: “how do you stop on ice.”
Melanie Blair asked “but how u getting back UP??!!!!” and mochalatte said “i was wondering the same thing.”
User rsrrhino also asked “how do you get back home?” and the original poster said “Ski boots are great for punching through ice!”
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.
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Photo-illustration by Newsweek
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.