He lost his wedding ring at a B.C. ski resort. 4 months later, it was found

Honey, I found my wedding ring.

That's the message Greg Hedges was able to share with his wife more than four months after a holiday ski trip gone wrong.

In January, Hedges and his family were on holiday from Australia and skiing at Big White Ski Resort, southeast of Kelowna, B.C.

At one point, Hedges tried to take a picture of his friends as they rode up the chairlift.

Hedges pulled off his glove and stuck his left hand in the snow to balance himself. Instantly, he felt the blood vessels in his finger constrict from the cold — and his wedding ring fall off. 

When he pulled out his hand, the ring was gone. "I just went, 'Oh no,'" he recalled.

Hedges searched in the snow with a group, but came up empty handed. He flagged the missing ring to the resort's concierge and flew back home to Sydney.

"I just said to myself quietly, 'Look, one day, that thing just might turn up in the spring, if someone's got the diligence and the care to go and have a look for it,'" he said.

Final search

Enter Eric Robert.

The staffer at Big White Ski Resort embarked on a final expedition, looking for the ring in late May.

A rotating group of staff had searched the area multiple times over the winter, but were thwarted by the constant snow.

This time, the grass was exposed and the area clear. Robert came across a flat rock — and spotted the ring.

"It felt it really good. Very rewarding," Robert said. "We didn't really give up hope."

'I can still feel the ring'

Hedges learned of the recovery last Friday in a phone call from the resort's concierge.

"I was just absolutely thrilled," he said. "To lose it was very, very upsetting."

The ring is en route to Sydney via registered mail, and Hedges is expecting to receive it June 5.

"I can still feel the ring on my fourth finger," he said. "I can't wait to get it back on."