Dillon resident Kelsey Malin was skiing at Monarch Ski Area for the first time on Jan. 25 when she and her friend made a fateful decision: Without ducking a rope or seeing any sign that they were leaving the ski area, she said, they dropped into a powder stash on the back side of the mountain.
What followed was a grueling 52 hours lost in the wilderness with no survival gear, food or water. When the pair was finally rescued, they were delirious with hypothermia and severely frostbitten but had managed to survive two nights of subzero temperatures by huddling in snow caves.
Help eventually found them, when a backcountry skier stumbled upon Malin’s friend and alerted rescuers. Ski patrol soon arrived in a snowcat and took them to a hospital in Salida, where they were initially told they would lose their toes and possibly parts of their feet.
A hefty dose of blood thinners and a helicopter flight to the hospital ultimately prevented that, but Malin’s toes are still black with frostbite. She could eventually lose a pinky toe.
Looking back on the ordeal, she stresses that she and her friend had no idea they were leaving the ski area boundary. A lot of people incorrectly assume she ducked a rope, which is frustrating, she said. “Both me and my friend are very experienced skiers and we know the rules,” she said. “So the idea that this could happen to us means it could happen to anyone.”
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