While snowflakes fell gently over the icy hills of Andermatt, a man lay facedown on the ground, willingly getting buried under shovels of snow in a grueling test of human endurance. Elias Meyer, a competitive powerlifter from Switzerland, was on a mission to push his body and mind to their limits, and in doing so, he secured a Guinness World Records title for the longest time spent in direct full body contact with snow.
The record-breaking feat took place on April 2, 2024, as Meyer, wearing only his swim trunks, endured the numbing cold of the Swiss Alps for a remarkable 2 hours and 7 seconds. He shattered the previous record of 1 hour, 45 minutes, and 2 seconds, which was set in 2022 by Poland’s Valerjan Romanovski.
With a team of observers and an emergency medical crew on standby, Meyer lay motionless as a mound of snow was piled on top of him. The challenge was not just about the freezing temperatures, but also about the immense pressure of the snow pressing down on his body.
“The heavy snow pressed me down, causing my shoulders and elbows to ache,” Meyer said in a video interview with Guinness World Records. He also described the sensation of “a sharp ice cube against your back, with no chance to do anything about it.”
Despite the pain, he remained calm, proving to onlookers that the human body is capable of incredible things when trained and prepared. Meyer, who has been practicing cold exposure for years, decided to undertake the challenge to raise awareness about the power of the human spirit. His incredible achievement is a chilling reminder of the extraordinary feats that can be accomplished with sheer willpower and a unique mental fortitude.
