BOZEMAN — A 23-year-old local woman on a first date had to be rescued Wednesday night after she fell while skiing the Great One in the Bridgers.
According to the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, at 9:30 pm Gallatin County 911 received a call regarding the woman who had fallen up to 800 vertical feet.
Gallatin County Search and Rescue was mobilized and immediately responded to Battle Ridge for staging.
Four members of the Heli-Alpine Team were flown to the trailhead by Life Flight Network while twelve other SAR members hiked in from Bridger Canyon.
Shortly after midnight, SAR members reached the woman, performed a medical assessment, and got her in a litter.
Once the patient was ready to travel, SAR members rigged up ropes and lowered her down the steep rock face.
The skier was then taken back down the mountain, over rocks and deadfall, on a one-wheel litter.
She was transferred to Life Flight at Fairy Lake Trailhead just before sunrise.
Sheriff Gootkin noted, “She would have been in a lot worse shape without her helmet – it was pretty beat up.” He reminds everyone to wear helmets if they are climbing or skiing on steep terrain.
Photo courtesy of Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office
