it was our last race of the day. when reaching the top of the mountain, we all grabbed our equipment and veered to the side to get settled into our skis and boards. i started off rather confident, flying ahead of my family and competing with my younger brother Lucas for speed. after a few family check-ins to make sure we had everyone as we went down, I rode ahead and was determined to beat them down the mountain. I got into a nice groove, feeling my hips sway fluidly with the board as though they were one. it was a lovely slope and quite a scenic one at that, with vast mountain ranges and trees from near to far. I was skiing towards the edge of the mountain when suddenly the front of my board got caught on a patch of ice, jolting me forward off the slope, downhill towards a stream and face full of trees. I flew down head first, caught by a thick branch of a tree in the snow that knocked the wind right out of my chest. I was stuck upside down as my board was tangled within branches and the blood was rushing to my head. I tried to move my legs from up above me but the lower half of my body was simply not strong enough, I knew something was wrong with my leg but the fear that struck me worse was being trapped in the trenches of the snow for eternity. I hoisted the upper half of my body up, holding for dear life with my right hand on the branch as I carefully tried to unravel my shoes from the board. the last strap finally came undone and I watched my board plummet from above me, down to the stream of water below. it was easily a 15-foot drop from where I was hanging. I started skidding downhill uncontrollably as the branch beneath me was starting to give out from my weight. With the weight of my board off my legs, I was able to slowly reverse my body upright where each of my limbs was being held by a different branch. I could feel the branches breaking beneath my body, I could hear them crunching. I needed help. I was screaming at the top of my lungs. MOM!! DAD!!, this lasted for easily 10 minutes as I heard skiers above me whooshing past. my yells were being drowned out by the waterfall below me and I realized my voice was simply not powerful enough. panic overwhelmed me and I felt fear beginning to go into overdrive. it was just me. I had to save myself. nobody knew where I was. nobody could hear me. nobody was coming. I had to do something. I started talking to myself, saying I could do this; that I would get through this. I wasn't going to die on that mountain. I was going to be okay. one of the branches underneath my right leg had suddenly snapped, firing the adrenaline into my brain that it went time. I quickly looked around for other branches, any ridge in the snow, or an opportunity to get leverage. I needed to get my body up at least 5 feet more in order to be seen by passing skiers. it was now or never, my right leg started to slip down and I started chanting to myself that I could do this, grabbing onto anything close to me. sticks and rocks fell past me as I tried to not let that be me next. I had at least another foot to go but seemingly no way to lift myself up. as I looked up, my fingertips just touched the tip of the slope and I thought there was no way I could be seen. I took off my glove and tried to get extra height by dangling it above the ridge of the slope, to people passing by all you could see was a glove flopping in the distance above a cliff. I did this for what felt like ages as I felt my lower body tremble underneath me and my left leg throb under the pressure. I called out for help, hoping the little distance I was able to hoist myself up would make a difference in the way my voice traveled. I looked up to the sky and prayed. I had never been particularly religious and actually had pushed myself away many times from such concepts however I thought to myself if someone, something, anything was out there; I need it to please help me. it was a Christmas miracle. within minutes, I heard the voice of an older man call out from above. I remember seeing his bright red jacket as I looked up and felt a rush of hope run through me. he looked around at what he could use to help get me up. he tried lending me his hand which I was too far away from. and then he tried his ski which was not long enough to reach me. survival instincts must have struck this kind stranger fast as he started ripping off big branches to pull me up to safety. with a few inches left, I was close now and he pulled his arms underneath me lifting my body entirely back onto the slope. I fell to the ground in disbelief as he rushed to find the ski patrol.