Julie Abrahamsen almost couldn't believe it.

Shivering and soaked, the 20-year-old snowboarder from Norway spotted a helicopter Saturday, three long nights after going missing off Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler.

"When I saw the helicopter, like near by the river where I was walking, it was a red one...I was thinking 'Are they coming for me?' she told CTV News Sunday. "I was really excited and tried to run as fast as I could to the river to wave to them."

The helicopter was scouring the area after a crew member had spotted tracks earlier in the day, and the team intercepted Abrahamsen near upper Wedge Creek.

"We found each other, it was the best feeling," she said.

Brad Sills of Whistler Search and Rescue said it was a "big win" to find Abrahamsen alive and in relatively good health.

"These moments are just so great for us because we don't get enough of them," Sills said Saturday. "The weather has been treacherous. It doesn't get much worse than this...That's why this story is particularly sweet."

Sweet not just for friends in Whistler, where Abrahamsen had been staying since Boxing Day, but for her family members half a world away in Norway.

Knut Abrahamsen said the message he received letting him know his daughter was alive was life-changing.

Speaking from his home near Oslo, Norway, Knut Abrahamsen described three days of horror as he and other loved ones waited for word of his daughter’s safe rescue from halfway around the world.

“We were in the deepest grief you could imagine. We were crying and praying to god,” he said. “Out in the wilderness on her third night, we were hoping and praying and believing that everything was okay.”

As searchers continued their efforts into Saturday, the news finally broke that the missing 20 year old had been found.

“We were very, very down. We looked at the watch, they had been looking for one hour, two hours, three hours. And then around 2 p.m., basically I got the message from one of her friends who said, very short, ‘Julie found alive. Please call,’” he said. “And of course that transformed our life totally, from the deepest grief to extreme happiness and joy.”

Somehow, despite surviving three days alone in the backcountry, Abrahamsen sustained no major injuries. Police say mild temperatures likely contributed to Abrahamsen's survival. Now, she's back home with a heightened appreciation for the good things in life.

"It was a good shower yesterday, one of the best," she said. "I went to bed, my own bed. I had been dreaming about that for three days," she said.

Her father said her safe recovery is nothing short of spectacular.

“She was out there fighting and she was not going around being concerned about anyone, she was determined to fight nature and win.”

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Tom Popyk.