The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
No life-threatening injuries
By Alissa Johnson
Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CBSAR) responded to a ski injury on Axtel on Saturday. The injury was not life-threatening, and in the end, transport to the hospital was not required.
According to Ric Ems, who acted as incident commander, the call came in at 1:37 p.m., “as a 42-year-old male with a knee injury skiing the second bowl on Axtel.”
It just so happened that Crested Butte local Steve Banks was co-leading an American Mountain Guide Association ski guide course in the area. He and five students were close enough to respond to the skier.
“It was fortuitous,” Banks said. He had run into the injured skier’s group earlier in the day on the skin track and talked about where each group was skiing. “I got word [of the injury] because after the first pitch, I pulled out my phone to take a photo and got a text from one of the people in the injured party saying one of these guys hurt his knee.”
Because Banks still had cell reception and knew that CBSAR was covering the Gothic Mountain Tour, he called a friend on the CBSAR team to let him know his group could respond and get the skier to Kebler Pass Road. He and his students then made a rescue sled from equipment they had on hand and got the skier partway down the mountain before meeting up with CBSAR.
Banks said he and his co-instructor had been chatting about how the course was ahead of schedule—that perhaps they should practice rescue sleds, an exercise slated for the following day. Now some students got that hands-on experience a little early.
According to Ems, about eight CBSAR team members also responded to the call, and a crew brought a Cascade toboggan up to meet Banks’ group in the trees toward the base of the second bowl on Axtel.
“They did a good job. Hats off to them,” Ems said
It was then a joint effort to get the skier down to the valley floor and the creek bottom below Kebler Pass Road. The team then used what Ems described as an “uphaul system” to raise the skier up to the road. He was transported to the trailhead via a trailer towed behind a snowmobile, and from there, the skier went to a local clinic by personal vehicle.
“Although his injuries were not life-threatening, we don’t treat it like that at the time of the response,” Ems said. “We still have to get there as soon as possible and evaluate.”
The response was complete by 4:30 p.m. Ems credited Steve Banks and his students with doing a great job and aiding in such a quick response. Banks said it was good experience for the students.
“It was really good for the students, a hands-on learning experience to see how it goes and what works and doesn’t work,” he said.
