Search and rescue workers say a 27-year-old base jumper is lucky to be alive after getting snagged in a rocky outcropping hundreds of metres above the ground on a Squamish, B.C., mountain.
The unidentified man had just made his first jump from the top of The Stawamus Chief, a 700 metre monolith above the waters of Howe Sound, Wednesday afternoon when a strong gust of wind hurled the man back against the cliff.
While his partner made it down safely, the parachute of the man snagged, allowing him just enough time to scramble against a ledge on the nearly sheer granite rock face.
He was stranded there for more than three hours.
"[He just] hit a bad wind or something, did a 180 degrees and slammed into the wall, slid down and just absolutely miraculously landed on this ledge," rescuer John Howe of Squamish Search and Rescue told CTV News.
In Pictures: Base jumper rescue
As search teams assembled, two rescuers rappelled 120 metres down the cliff to land on the three metre perch where the jumper anxiously awaited.
"It's a big wall and it's difficult getting exactly where he was," Howe said.
It took 30 minutes to use a pulley system to get him back to the top to safety.
The rescued jumper, who isn't from B.C., thanked the people who saved his life once he reached the ground.
"I am sorry for bringing them out today," he said, asking to remain anonymous. "I want to thank them a lot."
He was transported to hospital around 8 p.m. with a lower leg injury. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The man's base jumping partner insists the pair took all the necessary precautions on their trip.
"We actually do a risk assessment funnily enough, checking everything – weather winds, landing areas, just doing gear checks," he said, adding that he had been doing the sport for three years, while his partner just started a year ago and has completed between 40 to 50 successful jumps.
"A lot of people look at jumping like it's reckless and stupid but it's not. If it's done safely it's actually a pretty safe sport.
But the Squamish Search and Rescue team, who have saved two such jumpers in the past 10 years, disagree.
John Howe said it's a miracle the man even survived.
"I said if I were you, I'd walk down and put a $10,000 bet at that casino cause it's your luckiest day of your life for sure."
In base jumping, extreme sports enthusiasts use parachutes to jump from fixed objects. "Base" is actually an acronym for the four main categories of objects that can be used as a platform: building, antenna, span and earth.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Bal Brach
