30-metre fall, broken bones won't stop P.E.I. man from climbing again

P.E.I. mountain climber Matt Cormier believes he is lucky to be alive after a 30-metre fall from the side of a rocky crag in New Brunswick in September.

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Cormier fell while climbing recreationally at the Welsford Rendezvous rock-climbing event in Welsford, N.B., September 16, when his safety line was sliced through by a sharp rock edge. 

"What happened is so highly unlikely to happen it's actually kind of ridiculous," said Cormier as he recovered at home this week.

It's almost impossible to describe how lucky the outcome is.— Matt Cormier

Cormier suffered a broken left ankle, broken left tibia, fibula and femur, a broken sternum, a shattered right elbow and two shattered verterbrae. It's taken several surgeries to repair the damage.

Cormier was wearing his climbing helmet, which his doctors told him saved him from major head injuries. 

'Freak accident' 

"It was a freak accident, it could have happened to any one of us climbing regardless of experience level," Cormier said. 

His ropes caught him dozens of times this summer, he said, but one being severed like this is "very, very unlikely," noting that he is safety-minded and reads a lot of accident reports from climbs around the world to learn from them. 

He was also lucky to fall at a well-attended event where there were many people highly trained in retrieving fall victims, and even a volunteer fire department on site, he said. 

"It was probably the best day for the worst experience," he said. 

It took responders about three hours to get Cormier from where he fell to the base of the rock, after which he was transported to Saint John Regional Hospital — where he spent the next 20 days. 

'Zero limitations'

On Thanksgiving weekend, Cormier's wife Nicole was able to bring him home to Stratford, P.E.I.

And he has a lot to be thankful for, he said. 

"I'm told long-term, I'll be able to be as strong or stronger than ever — I'll have zero limitations," he said. 

"Every time I think about it I typically just get flustered and can't put words together and I usually just end up crying," he said. "It's almost impossible to describe how lucky the outcome is." 

'Super-excited every day'

Cormier is also grateful for the outpouring of finanicial and emotional support he's received.

Several fundraisers held by friends have helped the couple make ends meet — they've been off work for the last month, as Nicole stayed with her husband in the hospital 24/7. His parents also rarely left his side. 

Cormier runs the Red Rock Climbing Wall, an indoor climbing gym in Stratford, P.E.I., and is a personal fitness trainer and instructor.

He's hoping to start physiotherapy in the next six to eight weeks. He plans to return to work as soon as possible, then return to climbing within six to nine months.

"It's long, but it's also very short at the same time," he said. 

'Won't be the last time'

The accident isn't slowing Cormier down — he's very positive, and says he hopes to live a long life.

"There's no reason to be anything but to be super-excited every day."

"It won't be the last time I'll get spanked, but hopefully it'll be the worst," he said of the fall.  

Cormier is such a climbing fanatic he's built a small indoor climbing area in his basement where a local climbing group, the Sandstone Soldiers, trains. 

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