A snowmobiler sledding through new-fallen, backcountry snow found himself plunging, tumbling and sliding 30 metres into an abandoned, open mine shaft.
But seven hours after the sledder crested a hill to see the gaping hole too late to stop himself from being swallowed, Ken Gadicke was in an ambulance with only a few broken bones, thanks to his two sledding companions and a search-and-rescue team.
Scott Spencer with Nelson Search and Rescue co-ordinated the efforts Tuesday to retrieve the 58-year-old Nelson-area man.
"Many people that were there describe it as a miracle that he's alive," Mr. Spencer said in an interview Wednesday.
Tuesday in the area was a beautiful, sunny day with fresh snow and the backcountry was filled with enthusiasts, including several members of Mr. Spencer's team.
But this area of the Kootenay Pass between Nelson and Creston is pockmarked with hundreds of abandoned mine shafts, a fact well known by those who use the area.
Mr. Spencer said Mr. Gadicke owes the quick response of rescuers to the two friends he was sledding with.
After the accident, one stayed with him while the other sledded back to the highway and managed to contact the B.C. Ambulance Service before returning to his friend.
The two friends climbed into the hole, gave Mr. Gadicke some blankets and got a rope around the 6-foot, 225-pound man.
"They proceeded to literally drag him out of the hole as best they could," Mr. Spencer said.
"By all safety standards, it was the wrong thing to do. [It was]incredibly brave because going into mines at any time is a dangerous thing."
The two friends managed to get the sledder to within about seven metres of the surface, making the rescue much more swift.
"It was a situation that would have been difficult for me as a search manager because cave rescue, mine rescue has a lot of safety standards around it. ... I would not have been able to send my team much further down without the mine rescue group on site, which was estimated to be somewhere around 8 or 9 p.m. that evening."
Instead, the man was on the surface by 5:30 p.m. and in the ambulance two hours later.
Mr. Gadicke's son Steve was one of the two other sledders with his father during the ordeal, but didn't want to talk to the media when reached at home in Creston Wednesday.
Steve said his dad had a broken arm and foot and was expected to be out of the hospital soon.