There wasn't much Marieta Bialek and Austin Zedak were concerned about.
They had just successfully skied their two objectives around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22: Conundrum and Castle Peaks, about 31 miles south of Aspen. Joining another couple, they were about to head down to the hut they'd stayed at to grab their stuff and go home.
Then, Bialek hit a compression in the snow. Her right binding failed to deploy correctly, resulting in her tumbling three times with the ski still on and snapping her leg and ankle.
"It was so much pain in there, but I couldn't quite tell what had happened," she said, although she ultimately learned she had broken her tibia, fibula, and ankle.
It took the group some time to assess and make a decision about what to do next, according to her. After the group's search-and-rescue message did not go through via satellite phone, they decided to self-rescue after determining it wasn't a life-threatening injury.
Serendipitously enough, both Bialek and Zedak had just completed a Wilderness First Responder certification course the week prior.
"It was because we love the backcountry and we go on a lot of self-supported adventures that might have consequences if something went wrong," she said of their decision to take the course. "It's really easy to get injured even if you're the strongest athlete; anything can happen. My fall showed me that. Shout out to our teachers Johann Aberger and Meagan O'Shaughnessy and the Desert Mountain Medicine WFR program through CMC."
Both Bialek and Zedak agreed it was a huge coincidence that her backcountry injury occurred directly after their training. Because of their knowledge, Zedak confirmed they felt competent to address the injury by creating a uniquely resourceful splint for her by buddy-splinting her boots together with ski straps and strapping a shovel to the ski boots.
He said they jokingly called Bialek "shovel foot" on the way down to keep the mood light. The three then proceeded to descend the mountain to where they had a sled that he liked to bring on hut trips to haul gear.
"The first one-and-a-half to two miles was the hardest part of our rescue," Bialek said. "The terrain was super difficult, so we had to do a few methods of butt-scooching down some snow, self-scooting myself since the shovel would slide, and Austin and our friend Connor pulling me on a split board. The snow was very soft. Some areas were warm, and they would sink up to their thighs. It was tricky. It was not the easiest extraction."
At Tagert Hut, they transferred Bialek to the sled and evacuated on about five miles of snowy road, including a creek crossing she called "difficult."
The group was able to get a car past the gate at Ashcroft to pick up Bialek from the Pine Creek Cookhouse area. She was at the Aspen Valley Hospital by 7:30 p.m.
While their self-rescue was both extraordinary and successful, both Bialek and Zedak aren't encouraging everyone to attempt it.
"Try and call rescue as soon as you can when these kinds of events happen," he said. "We're not trying to endorse self-rescue over safe decisions. We would have been way more apt to go for the full rescue if the odds weren't in our favor."
According to him and Bialek, the great weather, appropriate gear, and strong team were all conditions that enabled the self-rescue.
"Gear sometimes malfunctions, and it's good to have a way to communicate, but sometimes things fail," she added. "Double check before you go on a trip and have the skills to manage the situation."
Zedak and Bialek also credited their friends, Connor and Sierra, for assisting significantly in the self-rescue.
"My three rescuers were superheroes," Bialek said. "Everyone was already exhausted. The power of adrenaline and the body just being able to perform in an emergency situation is pretty amazing to see. I'm so proud of all of us. I think it was pretty incredible."
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