The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
She was “tough as nails…”
By Mark Reaman
A backcountry ski accident in this extended ski season called out the Crested Butte Search and Rescue (CBSAR) team last week and ended with helicopter assistance to rescue a local woman who had broken her leg near Scarp Ridge.
According to Crested Butte Mountain Rescue Team president Randy Felix, the accident took place about 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 26 and, overall he says, the rescue mission went pretty well.
A 33-year-old Crested Butte woman was out to ski Redwell Basin from Scarp Ridge with three visiting friends. Near the top of the ridge, the local skier caught an edge, twisted her leg and broke her lower leg. The name of the skier is being withheld by officials.
The group, including the injured skier, was able to get to the top of Gunsight Pass where they connected with cell service and called for help shortly after 9 a.m. Local dispatch informed the Mt. Crested Butte police department about the situation at about 9:15 a.m. CBSAR got official word of the rescue call about 9:20 a.m.
“The skier was near the top of Redwell and she was able to get herself to the top of Gunsight with her broken leg! She is tough as nails,” said Felix. “The group was well prepared with a Garmin InReach, a small tarp and multiple down jackets.”
CBSAR dispatched 11 people to respond to the incident and requested a helicopter to help with the extraction.
Felix said five CBSAR members immediately went into the field on snowmobiles via Evans Basin to the top of Gunsight Pass. “Once on scene, the team was able to provide medical aid and placed the skier in a vac mat in a toboggan and skied her down to a helicopter landing zone in Evans Basin,” he said. “While the team was in the field, I was coordinating with the helicopter.”
Given inclement weather, two medical helicopters declined to fly to the scene. Felix contacted Montrose Helitack, which he explained is a fire helicopter that now also is available for rescues. They are contracted through the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control based in Montrose. While they will participate in such a situation, they do not offer medical services.
“Montrose Helitack accepted the mission, and they flew to Buckhorn,” Felix said. “The timing of everything was well coordinated as to avoid any delays in care for the patient. As the ground team was skiing the patient down to the landing zone, I hopped on the helicopter, and we flew into Evans Basin to a landing zone the team had prepared. Montrose Helitack was able to land, and we transferred the patient from the litter into the helicopter and flew the patient back to Buckhorn,” Felix explained.
From there, the patient was transported by ground ambulance from Crested Butte Fire Protection District to the Gunnison Valley Hospital. Felix said that, as of the end of last week, the patient was in recovery and doing well. The rescue took approximately three-and-a-half hours with the patient put in the ambulance about 12:40 p.m.
Felix said CBSAR has had more than a few missions this past winter. The team assisted with the Marble avalanche recovery a few weeks ago and evacuated a participant with a broken ankle during the Gothic Mountain Tour. CBSAR assisted a Nordic skier with a dislocated hip up Cement Creek, and helped several overdue snowmobilers. Felix said that a person suffering from cardiac issues at the Friend’s Hut also needed to be evacuated and was ultimately flown out.
CBSAR depends on donations to stay up and running. Contributions can be made online at cbsar.org or by sending a check to P.O. Box 485, Crested Butte, CO 81224.
