A mountain biker broke her leg one-third of the way down a trail and was carried to an access road by her friends. The woman from Calgary was a third of the way down Big Money trail above Ridgemont on Saturday afternoon when she fell, breaking her leg in two places. She was part of a group of 12 riders who managed to splint her leg and carry her to the top of the single track trail where Fernie and District Search and Rescue drove her down the mountain on an ATV trailer.
"They were well-prepared but it probably wasn't very comfortable for her," said Chris Thomas of the search and rescue team.
"It is good for mountain users to have some first aid knowledge but the main thing is that people have some way of communicating with the outside world. We had the call within half an hour of her injury. It would take us longer if they had to wait for someone to ride down and get help. We also tell people not to be afraid to call for help. I know of two other people that broke their back - one of them rode himself to the hospital and the other one talked his friends through constructing a stretcher to get him to hospital. Particularly with spinal injuries it is better to call for help and get the proper equipment."