WATCH: One man’s near-death experience led to the experience of a lifetime. Jennifer Palma tells us about the adventure.
Brad Friesen and his buddies had always wanted to build an ice rink on top of a mountain. They were close to making their dream come true when their helicopter failed in -60 degree weather and they had to be rescued from an area near Pitt Lake.
“It started off as a very manageable situation,” said Friesen. “We had safety gear and we had all of our bases covered.”
Friesen and his friends managed to survive the ordeal, although at the time he thought they “might not make it out of this.”
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Thanks to a contest from Molson Canadian, Friesen finally got his chance to play on an outdoor lake on the top of the world.
After Friesen posted his story on Reddit, Molson Canadian asked him if he wanted to be part of their Anything for Hockey campaign. They wanted to build their own epic outdoor ice rink and maybe Friesen could help.
Ten thousand people shared their hockey dreams and stories for the campaign. In the end, 11 winners from across Canada were flown to Shamrock Lake near Invermere where they got to play shinny on an outdoor rink for two days.
Two other Lower Mainlanders took part in the Anything for Hockey campaign.
Shawn Mayzes lost his hearing at six months of age and he now gives back through a hockey program for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Pavel Barber caught Molson’s attention after he and his friends built an outdoor rink in just over 24 hours. He says the trip to Invermere reignited his love of the game.
“When you get there, your breath is taken away,” said Barber. “You kind of see it, it’s so surreal. When you see the surroundings and where you are, it really hits you why you play this game and how much it means to you.”
-with files from Jennifer Palma
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