Khaled Elgamal is still recovering in a Calgary hospital, physically battered and emotionally shaken. But what hurts most is the loss of his roommate and the man he says saved his life.
The 28-year-old was one of several hikers caught in a deadly rockfall at Bow Glacier Falls on Thursday, June 20, in Banff National Park.
His friend and roommate, 33-year-old Hamza Benhilal of Surrey, B.C., was one of two people who didn’t survive.
“He was my friend but also like my big brother,” Elgamal said from his hospital bed on Monday.
He’s recovering from a fractured pelvis and shoulder, along with several cuts and bruises.
“I’m still shocked. I’m still getting flashbacks of the scene,” he said quietly.
The two first met online in 2022 while enrolled in an MBA program at University Canada West — Elgamal was living in Egypt, Benhilal in Morocco.
They bonded quickly, later moving to British Columbia and sharing a home.
Benhilal worked as an engineer. Elgamal is a financial adviser.
Their hike to Bow Glacier Falls wasn’t planned.
A hotel staffer had suggested it earlier, saying the area would be less crowded than popular tourist spots like Lake Louise.
“We didn’t even have it on our bucket list for that day. We were planning to go to Lake Louise,” Elgamal recalled.
A third friend stayed behind at the hotel while the pair drove to the trailhead.
“We took a bunch of pictures at the lake first and then started the hike to the waterfall.”
That’s when the sound came.
“It sounded like a thunderstorm,” Elgamal said.
A massive boulder broke loose from the mountainside, crashing down and shattering on impact.
Benhilal, walking ahead on the trail, turned and yelled one word:
“Run!”
“He saved me by screaming,” said Elgamal. “I froze like a deer in headlights.”
He managed only a few steps before a rock struck his feet and sent him tumbling to the ground.
“I looked up and saw him for the last time, running, then disappearing in the dust.”
Then came the impact.
“Every time a rock was hitting me, I was blacking out.”
When the slide finally stopped, Elgamal lay bleeding, barely conscious.
“I was bleeding and looking around,” he said. He forced himself to his feet.
With a bleeding head, shaky legs, and in excruciating pain, he began descending the mountain.
He slipped on wet stones but kept going, guided by the sound of screams below.
Other hikers spotted him and rushed to help.
They told him to lie down and breathe, then covered him with their jackets.
“I was soaked in blood and barely managing myself,” he said. “I vomited a few times.”
“It was the most painful experience I’ve had.”
He told rescuers he couldn’t find his friend.
On Saturday, Elgamal was informed that Benhilal’s body had been recovered from the rubble the day before.
Another hiker, 70-year-old Jutta Hinrichs — a retired professor from Calgary — also died in the incident.
Officials with Parks Canada say the rockfall was caused by natural geological forces, and there was no way to predict or prevent it.
The trail remained closed on Monday.
Bow Glacier Falls is part of a popular nine-kilometre route along Bow Lake.
Elgamal said doctors may discharge him in the coming days.
Benhilal’s mother and one of his five brothers are flying to Alberta to arrange the funeral.
“I can’t believe my friend is gone,” he said. “I’ve been having nightmares every night since it happened.”
Several hikers who helped him that day have come to visit him in the hospital.
Elgamal says their kindness has brought some comfort — but the memory of the tragedy is still fresh.
“I’m grateful for the people who were there,” he said. “But I’ll never forget what happened.”
