A snowboarder who was lost on a mountain on British Columbia's North Shore for three nights was released from hospital on Thursday night.

James Martin, 21, is expected to return to Ontario with his mother and grandmother, who flew to Vancouver on Thursday to get him.

"It's a miracle" he's alive, said Martin's grandmother, Faye Milburn. "It is God's miracle."

Martin was found Wednesday after spending three days lost on Mount Seymour. He was suffering from hypothermia and frostbite and was treated at Vancouver General Hospital before being released.

Martin's mother, Debbie Martin, said Thursday that her son survived the ordeal by continuing to walk in the cold and snow.

"He ate snow, some berries, some twigs," she said. "He just kept thinking about the big sandwich and the big jug of juice that he had back in his truck."

Martin was snowboarding out of bounds on Sunday afternoon when he became lost and began wandering on the mountain.

Poor weather, the threat of avalanches and the length of time he was missing raised concerns that the search for Martin could have turned into a recovery effort.

His grandmother said she planned on telling Martin "don't you ever snowboard alone again, ever."

Martin didn't speak with reporters when he was released from hospital. He was too exhausted, he said.

But he said he wanted to express his appreciation to his rescuers for finding him and getting him off the mountain.

Debbie Martin, who joked that she planned to hug her son and then "smack him," said that after the trio arrive back in Orillia, Ont., a party is planned with the rest of his family.

Martin had been working with Tristar Installations Ltd., a roofing company in Langley, B.C.