The 26-year-old Comox man who was rescued Sunday from a snowy cliff on Mount Becher said while he never feared for his life, he was grateful to see the rescuers after spending hours stranded on the side of a mountain.

An avid back-country snowboarder, Lawrence Floucault left Mount Washington at 9 a.m. Friday, camped out overnight at McKenzie Lake and planned to finish his trek through Forbidden Plateau by Saturday afternoon.

Floucault said he's familiar with Mount Becher but he went too far in the wrong direction and couldn't find the trail he's used to.

He then found himself trapped on a cliff, unable to make it back up to the path.

On Saturday around 12: 30 p.m., he knew he needed to call for help.

"I made the decision to call for help early before I started panicking," he said.

The Comox search and rescue team was dispatched, which started an effort that spanned 16 hours and which one volunteer said was the most gruelling rescue he's ever done.

Soaking wet, Floucault set up his tent to shield himself from the pounding rain. And he waited.

Soon, he heard a helicopter flying overhead. But the rescue would prove to be much more difficult than simply having him hoisted into the air to safety.

Floucault had a global positioning system to provide his co-ordinates, but the crew in the air couldn't see through the thick cloud cover to the ground below.

The helicopter lowered some of the rescuers so they could try to get to Floucault by snowshoe. Others traversed the harsh landscape on snowmobiles.

Floucault and rescue volunteers communicated via whistles so he knew they were getting close.

Floucault said he remained calm and knew things would work out.

"I knew that, worse-case scenario, my life wasn't in danger," he said. "I could have stayed there the night by myself and I would have survived."

Rescuers didn't reach Floucault until 9: 40 p.m. After that, it took hours to hike out of steep terrain.

They didn't reach level ground until about 4: 30 a.m.

Floucault said he is grateful the search and rescue volunteers went to such great lengths to make sure he was safe.

"I just apologized and thanked them," he said.

Unfazed by the incident, Floucault was back on Forbidden Plateau Monday, ice-climbing with friends.

"It might sound weird but I guess I know that area," he said. "I definitely wasn't traumatized by the whole thing."

kderosa@timescolonist.com