When help finally came for snowmobiler Dave Metcalfe, he'd almost given up hope it was coming at all.

It came Saturday around 20 hours after he'd dug a hole to shelter in place amid high winds, heavy snow drifts and freezing temperatures in the Cape Breton Highlands.

"I've been in the snow all night, I'm starting to be wet, starting to soak through, and I was frozen," he said Sunday morning. "I really thought I was going to die there."

Metcalfe left Glace Bay early Friday with his friend, Hughie W…