A 40-year-old woman fell 60 feet down an embankment before grabbing hold of a tree on a ledge Tuesday while mountain biking west of Durango on the Colorado Trail.
Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County Search and Rescue, received a call from the woman around noon Tuesday. The victim, whose identity was not available Tuesday night, was biking with three companions.
“When the call came in, I immediately started coordinating the process of getting the search-and-rescue volunteers going,” Knowlton said.
He had the woman call him back every 10 minutes to update him about her status. He, in turn, updated her about the search-and-rescue team’s progress. These calls helped confirm the woman’s location, he said.
“When I got five same-story responses from the woman on her location, I knew she was at least seven miles up the Colorado Trail,” Knowlton said. “It gave me a closer area to send the rescuers to.”
He sent an advance team of two searchers on motorized trail bikes to find the woman. Rescuers carrying more gear followed shortly behind.
The first responders found the woman at 2:51 p.m. and rappelled down the embankment to reach her. She was conscious and appeared to have a broken arm or shoulder, Knowlton said. The injury made it difficult for her to support herself while climbing up the embankment with assistance from the rescuers, he said. It was 4 p.m. when they were able to make it back to the trail, where her biking companions were waiting.
At that time, the following group of search-and-rescue team members had not yet reached the scene, so the mountain bikers and first responders started walking down the trail, said Tom McNamara, La Plata County Emergency Management coordinator.
Knowlton said that if rescuers could not stabilize the victim’s arm, she would have to be wheeled 10 miles back to the Dry Fork trailhead where the bikers had started.
“Hopefully, it will work out, and she can ride out on a motorbike,” he said.
Knowlton did not expect search-and-rescue team members back at the trailhead until 8:30 p.m.
Medical and private helicopters were unable to aid in the search because of extreme winds in the area, so rescuers had no other option than to carry the woman out, he said.
Knowlton cautioned that backcountry recreationists need to be prepared.
“The emphasis we try to put on recreation in the backcountry is when you leave the vehicle, you have to understand that help is not quick,” he said. “You have to be prepared to take care of yourself until rescuers arrive.”
Knowlton said the victim would be taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center after returning to the trailhead.
tferraro@durangoherald.com
