BOSTON -- A Westborogh, Mass., man is talking about what it's like to be buried alive.

He was caught in an avalanche on Mount Washington last month and survived, thanks to a fast-acting climbing instructor.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that Tom Giammarco is scheduled for knee surgery this week, but he's thankful to be alive after being caught in the snow slide.

Giammarco had recently completed a climbing course and had never tried such a hike before and may never do so again.

"I remember being pushed and then the next thing I remember is a 'crack,' which I believe was my knee, and on instinct I put my hands up to my face to give myself an air pocket," Giammarco said.

That was quick thinking that helped save his life. Buried in about a foot of snow, another climber saw his hands sticking out and was able to dig him out of the snow and drag him down the steep trail. All he could think about was getting down safely.

"I got to get down this mountain, I can't die on this mountain. That's not an option," he recalled.

His wife got a call in Westborough that her husband had been caught in an avalanche.

"Previous to that week before he left was the news about all the hikers at Mount Hood, so that didn't help me. So when I got that phone call my first instinct was to say I told you so," she said.

Avalanches on Mount Washington are common and there is an avalanche advisory there for all of January. Temperatures on the mountain were minus 29 Wednesday morning, without the wind chill factor.