Skier Sean Toms, whose original Instagram post has now been view more than 11 million times, can count himself lucky after his own GoPro captured footage of him falling into a hidden waterfall – and escaping – while skiing solo in the Hokkaido backcountry.

“How not to ski the Hokkaido backcountry”, his post begins.

“Volume up for panic noises 😱Super lucky to walk away from this one with no injury’s [sic]. Great learning on the unique hazards that Japan has to offer, at least the water was warm 😯
Stay safe out there!”.

Users on the platform have expressed gratitude that the skier was unharmed, while others have questioned the legitimacy of the video, with some calling it a “stunt” and several pondering whether a ladder was used for Toms’ escape – a theory that he has debunked in a more recent video.

“Japan and their sneaky creeks and streams are no joke! They truly come out of no where without any notice. Glad you’re okay! So scary” – @kaylsmartz

“The fact that he didn’t break both his legs on image is an absolute miracle” – @cheleasroo

“Hmm what could be under this terrain trap I’m skiing down? 😮😮” – @brockdropandroll

“After some research, I can definitely say that this is not good.” – @johnnyangel7