A skier from the UK causes a small portion of snow to come off the cliff edge with him while he was skiing in the Swiss mountains near Zermatt.

In footage captured on January 3, the skier can be seen riding down the smooth powder approaching an opening on the cliffside.

As the skier gets closer blankets of snow - known as "sluff" - come unhinged from the ground with him causing the small avalanche.

The audible panic is heard as the skier is taken down but he manages to land on his skis unharmed and rides off celebrating.

The filmer told Newsflare: "I was skiing a chute I've been thinking about for a while but there was a good amount of sluff that almost completely took me out in a place with consequences.

"Thankfully I recovered it and landed on my feet this time!"