sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 not every day you fall off a mountain and live to tell the tale,sa国际传媒� says Blaine Penner of the experience that left him looking death in the face on a West Kootenay mountain.

Penner headed out with friends on the morning of Feb. 5 for a day of snowmobiling in the Norns Range north of Castlegar. They drove up Lady Bird Road out of Pass Creek and spent several hours having fun on their sleds.

The experienced group had checked avalanche conditions before heading out and finding them to be sa国际传媒渃onsiderablesa国际传媒� decided to stick to what they considered sa国际传媒渟afe zonessa国际传媒�.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Penner and his friend paused for a break and Penner got off his sled and walked out to the edge of what he thought was a ridge. Turns out he was confused about the location and discovered he was actually standing on a cornice of snow.

Penner saw a crack and felt the ground beneath him shift as the cornice broke off.

sa国际传媒淚 knew it was already too late,sa国际传媒� said Penner, so he instantly reached for the cord on his avalanche airbag.

By the time he hit the ground about 50 feet below, the airbag had fully deployed. From that point, Penner continued to ride the top of an avalanche down the mountain.

sa国际传媒淚t starts to pull me under into it and I know Isa国际传媒檓 getting buried under the snow, but I can feel my airbag popping me up,sa国际传媒� said Penner.

sa国际传媒淚 was doing everything I could to keep my head upright.sa国际传媒�

Eventually, Penner says he just accepted the fact that he was going to die.

sa国际传媒淚 had to fully surrender to accepting that I could go over a 1000-foot cliff and die at any moment. I had to make peace with it.sa国际传媒�

But Penner decided that even though he was accepting the inevitable, he was going to fight it with all his might for as long as he could. He says his brain began to process what was going on and soon his thoughts became more of a litany of scenarios sa国际传媒� I hope I donsa国际传媒檛 land on a rock, I hope I donsa国际传媒檛 land on my head, I hope I donsa国际传媒檛 break my neck.

As he tumbled downwards, he kept fighting to keep his head up, always looking for a bit of light.

When Penner finally came to a stop, there was a moment where he thought he must have died since he had just surrendered that there was no other way the journey would end.

But then, his friendsa国际传媒檚 voice came screaming out of the radio, calling his name.

He laid back and let his mind go for just a minute.

sa国际传媒淵ou are in total disbelief after going through something like that,sa国际传媒� he said.

Penner got up, gave himself an assessment and determined that the only thing wrong with him was a charlie horse.

sa国际传媒淚 got on the radio to Nate, told him not only was I alive, but that I was completely uninjured,sa国际传媒� said Penner.

At that point he had travelled almost 3000 feet down the mountain.

Penner told his friend to bunker down sa国际传媒� he was going to start hiking back up.

Meanwhile, a sledder from a different group had already called it a day and returned to his home around Slocan Park. But he had forgotten to turn off his radio. He overheard the commotion and conversation between Penner and his friend and offered assistance. The man named Jesse called Pennersa国际传媒檚 friends and family and Castlegar Search and Rescue was notified of the situation.

sa国际传媒淚 knew I was in danger of a second avalanche,sa国际传媒� said Penner.

sa国际传媒淭he smartest thing to do probably would have been to sit and wait for the helicopter sa国际传媒� but Isa国际传媒檓 not that person. I challenged myself to hike myself out of the situation that I put myself in.sa国际传媒�

The climb to the top took him four hours and he could just see the orange glow of the sunset when he got there.

Penner says theresa国际传媒檚 some lessons to be learned from the experience and wants to share them with others.

sa国际传媒淚 made one complacent choice sa国际传媒� if I had made two, it would have cost me my life,sa国际传媒� says Penner.

sa国际传媒淚 kept my helmet on, I had my backpack on, I had my trigger out for my airbag, I had a charged radio.sa国际传媒�

Pennersa国际传媒檚 message to others: buy the gear, wear your gear and know how to use it.

sa国际传媒淲ithout it, I wouldnsa国际传媒檛 be here.sa国际传媒�