It was just after 11am on Saturday and Michael Taylor and his friend Christian Likely were approaching the most dangerous part of their climb towards Canada's picturesque Sky Pilot Mountain.
Taylor, the 29-year-old from Wangi Wangi on the NSW Central Coast, and Likely were on Stadium Glacier in the wilderness about 67km north of Vancouver.
The glacier would lead them to Sky Pilot Mountain.
"They were on the steepest part right near the head wall where the glacier steepens a little bit," Squamish Search and Rescue manager Katy Chambers told AAP.
"They weren't climbing vertical ice, but this time of year there's no snow left on the glacier so the ice is quite slippery."
Suddenly, Taylor fell.
The Australian was wearing crampons, spiked devices climbers attach to their feet to allow them to dig into ice or snow.
But, it was believed to be the first time Taylor had climbed with crampons.
He also wasn't wearing a helmet.
"With the crampons, if you don't dig them in properly it is quite easy to slip on the side of them," Chambers said.
As Likely watched in horror, Taylor slid for about 300m, his body smashing against the ice and jagged rocks.
Another climbing party saw Taylor and triggered their emergency locator beacon, alerting local authorities, including Chambers' search and rescue team.
A doctor who was in the area administered CPR, but could not save the young Australian, who moved to Canada in 2008 and lived in British Columbia's capital, Victoria.
"When we arrived on scene he was pronounced deceased by the doctor," Chambers said.
"Christian was very distraught.
"We had victim services from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) meet him when he flew out on the helicopter."
Stadium Glacier is what is known as a pocket glacier.
It doesn't have large crevices, but with it being summer the surface was a dangerous mix of ice and rocks.
While Taylor and Likely were physically fit, Chambers said she believed "they were inexperienced with the tools and equipment they were using".
The British Columbia Coroner is investigating what is now the second death in the area since the opening of the Sea to the Sky Gondola, which takes visitors up into the mountains.
Authorities said this has led to non-experienced hikers and climbers getting access to difficult terrain.
"We'll do an investigation of these two and see if there's any recommendations to possibly prevent future deaths," said Barb McLintock, of the British Columbia Coroner's Office.
In July Vancouver man Owen Hosford fell to his death after entering an advanced climbing area via the Sea to Sky Gondola.
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