After two days of fantastic climbing at the Remarkables Ice and Mixed Festival, I decided to fit in one more day with a friend I had not yet climbed with that weekend. We chose one of the easier mixed-climbing routes on the west face of Double Cone. Around 5 cm of fresh powder covered the route when we arrived, but we decided to give it a go.

Initially, we climbed through the first few easy moves and placed several pieces of protection as we went. About a meter above my last piece, I realized I needed another. I started shoveling snow off the rock and clearing out the crack to find a suitable placement for a nut. Suddenly, I was airborne. I tumbled back down the cliff, and the rope caught me after I slammed into the side of the ledge where we had started.

My climbing partner immediately began the rescue effort. They lowered me to a safe position, activated the ACR personal locator beacon, and called emergency services. Other climbers soon came to help, and ski patrollers arrived within an hour.

Search and rescue arrived by helicopter around an hour and a half after the fall. I was tucked below a band of cliffs on a steep slope, so the crew needed to use a winch to pick me up. I arrived at the hospital, just 5 km away, around two and a half hours after the accident. I was hypothermic and badly injured, but okay.

Thankfully, I was fortunate to be climbing with an extremely capable and calm friend. Generous climbers, ski patrollers, and the local search-and-rescue team all played an important part in helping me. Without their actions, the outcome may have been very different.

This PLB rescue showed the value of carrying a personal locator beacon in the mountains. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who helped me that day.