It was Greg Boswell who pried the grizzly’s mouth open, after the raging bruin clamped down on his shin.

Such is the strength in the hands and arms of one of Britain’s top young rock climbers — aided, of course, by a healthy burst of fear and adrenaline — that Boswell actually managed to wrench open jaws with a bite force in the 1,250-pounds-per-square-inch range.

But Bowswell refuses to take credit, saying it was his Welsh climbing partner Nick Bullock who really saved the day, leading his wounded friend on a three-hour scramble back to safety.

“The only thing I’m gunna say is that, despite me actually getting bitten, it was both Nick and I that were attacked. It was just as terrifying for him as it was for me. I literally owe my life to Nick,” wrote Boswell on his Facebook page.

“I was in shock after the incident and didn’t know what to do. Nick got me out of there and drove me to the hospital! I probably would have died of hypothermia or blood loss if he hadn’t kept me going. My stupid idea was to climb a tree and wait until daylight.”

It’s an encounter that has the mountaineering community buzzing, after the two popular British climbers took to the keyboard to tell the story of their terrifying ordeal on Mount Wilson in Banff, where a grizzly settling down to den for the winter was surprised by their presence.

The pair was trekking through the woods, when Nick suddenly heard his younger friend yell.



“Greg was behind. ‘Bear, aaaaaaargh.’ I spun to watch Greg sprint past me and in hot pursuit was a Grizzly,” reads Bullock’s blog.

“The bear bounded, pulling and pushing the snow with powerful legs. Greg ran out of sight and the carnivorous freight train passed me, snorting and growling and bounding, dusting me with spindrift.

“It looked at me for a second, and for a second I thought this is it, this is really f---ing it, but in that second the bear had spotted Greg had fallen.”

The grizzly attacked the fallen man, first clamping down on his boot, and then his leg.

“Greg fell on his back and watched the monster closing. It jumped. Screaming and shouting, Greg kicked at Ursus arctos horribilis and it bit straight though his brand new boot as if it were a carpet slipper. It lunged once more and crunched into his shin, placing a paw on his other leg before lifting him off the ground,” reads Bullock’s account.

It was at that point that Boswell used his powerful arms to fight back.

“I’m not sure at this point what other people would do, but Boswell is Boswell and the bear just didn’t appreciate this, he grabbed the bear’s mouth and prized apart the jaws.”

Punches to the bear’s jaw followed: “A few left jabs to the jaw and it f---ed off,” wrote Boswell.

The animal broke of the attack, giving the two men chance to escape — which of course they did, screaming into the woods.

“Following Greg’s bloody footprints, I wondered at what distance bears can smell blood,” recalled Bullock in his blog, which recounts their terrifying struggle to find their way back to safety, lost, confused and wondering the whole time if the grizzly would attack again.

But they made it — and after a visit to Banff Mineral Springs Hospital, where five deep wounds on Bosewell’s leg were stitched up, they were safe, and even making jokes.

“I got attacked by a Grizzly bear last night and lived to tell the tale,” wrote Bosewell, who also posted a photo of himself drinking Grizzly Paw Brewery’s Grumpy Bear beer.

And that’s exactly what the attack likely was, say park officials in Banff, who have now closed off the area to give the bruin peace.

Kim Titchener, a Canmore human/wildlife conflict specialist, says it serves as a reminder that bears are around, even in winter.

“I don’t think people realize that you can have a bear encounter even in winter, and they end up leaving things like bear spray at home,” said Titchener.

michael.platt@sunmedia.ca

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