A daring 16-year-old Canadian mountain climber was rescued after falling 500 feet on Oregon’s Mount Hood, authorities said.

The teen — identified as Gurbaz Singh of Vancouver, British Columbia — was rescued at about 10,500 feet Monday afternoon after falling from an area of the 11,239-foot mountain known as the Pearly Gates to a section called Devil’s Kitchen, KATU reports.

“He thought he was going to stop somewhere, and he was trying to arrest the fall with his ax, but it just didn’t happen because he was rolling so fast that he couldn’t do it,” the teen’s father, Rishamdeep Singh, told the station. “He OK with that; he’s not thinking much of it. He’s talking to family and friends. He’s in good spirits.”

The teen, who was making his 90th climb on Oregon’s tallest mountain, is expected to undergo surgery for a broken leg at a hospital in Portland early Tuesday. Friends told the station he was leading a pack of climbers when he slipped on an icy path and was unable to stop his descent.

Rescue crews arrived on the mountain at about 1 p.m. Monday and plucked Gurbaz off the peak about four hours later, KATU reports.

An awaiting ambulance at Timberline Lodge then rushed Gurbaz to a hospital, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

“Thanks to all the search volunteers who helped this successful operation today,” the agency tweeted.

Mount Hood is one of the most-climbed mountains in the world — with more than 10,000 people making the ascent to its summit annually, according to sheriff officials.

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