'I really thought I was going to die there': Snowmobiler recalls dramatic Cape Breton rescue

When help finally came for snowmobiler Dave Metcalfe, he'd almost given up hope it was coming at all.

It came Saturday around 20 hours after he'd dug a hole to shelter in place amid high winds, heavy snow drifts and freezing temperatures in the Cape Breton Highlands.

"I've been in the snow all night, I'm starting to be wet, starting to soak through, and I was frozen," he said Sunday morning. "I really thought I was going to die there."

Metcalfe left Glace Bay early Friday with his friend, Hughie Whalen, to go snowmobiling in an area of the highlands popular with enthusiasts. 

The weather wasn't ideal, but the two forged ahead after driving nearly two hours to the trail head on Oregon Road in Victoria County.

But the two realized they were in trouble as they made their way back to their truck after nightfall. They began to encounter massive snow drifts in blizzard-like conditions. 

Eventually, lost and with one sled stuck in the snow, they made the decision to split up, said Metcalfe. Whalen drove off on his snowmobile to seek help around 7 p.m. 

Metcalfe hunkered down, digging a hole and using part of his snowmobile to shield himself from the wind.

But as the hours piled up and he couldn't manage much sleep, he worried that the worst had happened to his friend.

"It's like one of those things where you wake up from a dream and think, 'Oh my God, that was a terrible dream,'" he said.  

"Only any time I nodded off and woke up, it just became more and more real." 

Whalen found first

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to both of them, the race to find them had begun.

After she didn't hear from her husband, Whalen's wife, Stephanie, posted in a private snowmobiler group on Facebook looking for assistance.

Richard MacPhee was one of the people who responded.

When he called 911 and was told that search and rescue crews wouldn't be able to be deployed until the morning, he decided to see if anyone was available to immediately go looking for Metcalfe and Whalen. 

"I personally knew that they weren't going to survive the night in those elements," MacPhee said. "It was a do-or-die situation for them." 

Scott Rafuse and Ryan O'Shea answered the call.

They departed from the trail head on Oregon Road at around 1:30 a.m.

"I've been in some pretty bad conditions in my life, weather-wise, and by far this was the most severe," he said.

At around 3 a.m., they finally spotted Whalen.

He was slumped forward on his sled, unresponsive, and covered in snow.

"We honestly thought he was dead in the position he was in," said MacPhee. "He was basically lifeless ... but finally we got a little grunt out of him, which indicated he was at least acknowledging that we were there." 

Conditions were so bad that the three of them had to make the decision to leave Whalen there for the time being and drive back down the mountain to call for backup.

They were able to wake up a man who operates a groomer, a machine that clears paths from snow drifts, and head back up the hill. 

Whalen was finally brought to safety around 7 a.m. and transported to the hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia.

Metcalfe still missing

Metcalfe, however, was still out there, unaware that people were looking for him and that his friend had been found.

By 1 p.m., he was beginning to lose hope. He worried especially for his 76-year-old mother, who lost another son suddenly last month. 

"I had it in my mind for the last hour or two that I'm 100 per cent … gonna freeze to death," he said.

When he was finally located around 3 p.m., he could hardly believe what was happening.

"A couple of guys pulled up on a snowmobile," he said. "I thought I was seeing things."

They brought Metcalfe to the Pig and Whistle, a newly rebuilt shelter that has long been a mainstay in the Cape Breton Highlands.  

When he got inside, a fire was roaring, and he was fed, hydrated and given dry clothes to wear.

He's thankful for the kindness of the people in the community who came together to make sure he got home safely. 

"I'm a total stranger to these guys," he said. "It's so overwhelming." 

Lesson learned

Metcalfe said he's been told he did almost everything right to ensure he survived.

He kept his snowsuit on the whole time, and the hole he dug helped limit the damage.

Stephanie Whalen said Sunday her husband was sleeping off his ordeal, but is expected to make a full recovery.

"I'm lucky to have him back," she said. "I still get emotional just thinking about it."

She's hoping that this rescue sheds a light on the dangers of not taking weather conditions seriously.

"I know my husband learned a lesson," she said.

"We don't want to see people up there stranded because I can't imagine the fear that was in both Huey and Dave in the middle of the night, especially when they're separated." 

MacPhee, for his part, said he and his friends are finally catching their breath after the dramatic rescue. 

"The emotions, I think they just started hitting us. I know Scott had a good cry today, and it sounds like I am, too."