A missing teen snowmobiler built a snow cave to survive until rescuers arrived

After going missing while on a snowmobile, a Canadian teenager managed to survive by building a snow cave to stay in until he was found.

A 17-year-old in British Columbia, who has not been named, built himself a snow cave the backcountry to shelter in after being separated from his group, according to South Cariboo Search and Rescue.

At around 6:15 pm on Saturday, 100 Mile House Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was notified of an overdue snowmobiler.

Family and friends of the teen had returned to a parking lot, but he had never showed, according to a news release from RCMP.

Some of the party remained on the hill and began searching, while others left to alert South Cariboo Search and Rescue, who contacted 100 Mile House RCMP. South Cariboo SAR eventually located the teenager, finding him “in good condition,” RCMP said in its release.

“This young man did everything right after things went wrong,” SAR wrote in a Facebook post praising the teen. “He got separated from his group and after multiple failed attempts to get back out of the area, the way he got into it and not knowing the terrain and area, he parked his sled in a wide-open area, walked over to a nearby treed area and built himself an incredible snow cave to spend the night.”

The post continued, “When our team members came across him, he was in the shelter with food and water. This young man made our task a little less difficult by staying in place and having some backcountry winter survival knowledge.”

The 100 Mile House RCMP thanked the South Cariboo SAR team for bringing the search to another positive outcome.

“We in the south Cariboo are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of well-trained volunteers to assist in times of need,” RCMP Cpl. Madonna Saunderson wrote in a statement.