Steve Backshall has recalled the terrifying moment his ‘life flashed before his eyes’ during a near-fatal rock climbing accident.
The explorer and presenter, 52, broke his back in 2008 after slipping 25 foot down a cliff face while climbing in the rain with his travel writer friend Tarquin Cooper in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
He also nearly drowned in a kayaking accident years later which left him terrified he would never see his wife and kids again.
He shares a son Logan, six, and five-year-old twins, Willow and Kit with his Olympic rower wife Helen Glover.
Speaking to the High Performance podcast The Sun reports that he said of the rock-climbing accident: ‘In that second-and-a-half (of the fall) I had time to see the leaves passing by me on the trees, to flash back through my life – to so many of the things that had happened to me.
‘Time appears to slow down. Our brains are zipping back through our life history to try and find something that might save us in that instant – some little moment that could give us the clarity to act, and in my case stop my fall.
Steve Backshall has recall ed the terrifying moment his ‘life flashed before his eyes’ during a near-fatal rock climbing accident
The explorer and presenter, 52, broke his back in 2008 after slipping 25 foot down a cliff face while climbing in the rain with his travel writer friend Tarquin Cooper in the Forest of Dean
‘That was a second-and-a-half. And in a second-and-a-half I did see my life flash before me.’
And he described that during the kayaking incident he was terrified that the life he had planned with his wife ‘wouldn’t happen’.
Steve said at the time of the rock-climbing accident: ‘I’ve broken two vertebrae but I could have been paralysed – or worse.
‘The rock was wet so I stopped to rest but the next thing I was heading very quickly towards the ground.
‘All I can remember is landing with a sickening thud. I can’t begin to describe how painful it was, but I’m lucky.’
His friend Cooper, who witnessed the horrific accident, said: ‘It was awful. I saw him cartwheel down before hitting the ground with a thump.
‘I couldn’t carry him so he put his arm round me and we walked to the car – 45 minutes away.’
Steve recently admitted that having three young children while in his 50s is physically draining.
He shares a son Logan, six, and five-year-old twins, Willow and Kit with his Olympic rower wife Helen Glover
He told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I do wish I had the energy I had when I was in my 20s and 30s, to have the ability to sprint around playing football and rugby all day long with my kids, and for me to still be popping and buzzing with energy.
‘But obviously I haven’t and it’s tough to keep going when you’re 52 and you’ve got three kids under six.
‘But I’ve got knowledge and experience and a whole array of things I can teach them about, help them with.
‘Also I’ve got no choice!
‘These are the cards that I was dealt, and I’ve got to make it work.’
He described his wife as a ‘mega-mum’ and is proud that she was the first British female rower to go to an Olympic games after having children.
Backshall, who presents a new podcast, That’s Just Wild, said of his career: ‘I think they are very excited by it and very proud – but also, the fact I go away a lot, they don’t like at all.
‘They really struggle with it. It’s been hard ever since they could understand what I was doing.
He also nearly drowned in a kayaking accident years later which left him terrified he would never see his wife and kids again
‘They would take me doing an office job and seeing me every day over me having this incredibly exciting job but always being away for long periods of time. Especially at the age they’re at.
‘Right now for this one little precious period of time in their lives all they want is to be with Mummy and Daddy.’
Backshall, who took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, admits that he’s an old fashioned father, saying: ‘I do think that discipline and rules and structure are important for kids.
‘The things we’ve been doing for generations are timeless for a reason.’
