Greg Boswell: Scottish climber survives ferocious grizzly bear attack in Canada

Mr Boswell prized the animal’s jaws apart after it sunk its teeth into his leg

“It lunged once more and crunched into his shin, placing a paw on his other leg before lifting him off the ground." (BBC)

One of Scotland’s most promising young climbers has told how he narrowly survived a ferocious attack by a grizzly bear in Canada by prizing the animal’s jaws apart after it sunk its teeth into his leg.

Greg Boswell, 24, from Cupar in Fife, was making his way through thick forest on the 3,261ft Mount Wilson in the Canadian Rockies at the weekend when the “monster” bear chased him down as his climbing companion Nick Bullock watched in horror.

Mr Bullock, from Llanberis in north Wales, said he heard his friend scream the word “bear” and turned to see him being pursued across the snow by the animal, which pounced on top of him and “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,” Mr Bullock wrote on his blog. “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, pushing and screaming.”


 Mr Boswell posted several graphic images of his injuries on Facebook
 (BBC)

Mr Bullock ran for his life, but when he heard his friend screaming for help he stopped and retraced his steps. “I’ll tell the truth, the thought of running back to face the bear armed with only a ski pole slowed me – in fact, armed with a bazooka would have still slowed me – but Greg was shouting my name, how could I just stand?” he recalled.

After managing to fight off the bear, which had left five deep wounds in Mr Boswell’s leg, the pair spent several terrifying hours wandering around the woods in darkness as they attempted to find their kit and navigate down the mountain, which is near the ski resort of Banff. “In the distance wolves howled. Following Greg’s bloody footprints, I wondered at what distance bears can smell blood,” Mr Bullock recalled.

After spending a number of hours outside in freezing temperatures, the two men made it Banff where they were treated at a local hospital. Mr Boswell required surgery on the bite injuries sustained in the attack, while Mr Bullock asked for a stiff drink but had to make do with ginger beer.

Mr Boswell, who has been climbing since the age of 13 and is regarded as one of the most talented of his generation, posted several graphic images of his injuries on Facebook, telling friends he had been left “shook up and sore” by the incident but was “all stitched up now and on the mend”.

He later posted a status update thanking Mr Bullock for his help. “It was just as terrifying for him as it was for me. I literally owe my life to Nick. 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,” he said.

“It was a friend doing as much as he could in a crazy situation to keep his friend from dying. I probably would have died of hypothermia or blood loss if he hadn’t kept me going. I can’t thank Nick enough, even though I know I don’t have to. Cheers bro.”