Snowmobiler rescued after crash

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Fire Department and Seeley-Swan Search and Rescue responded to a call early Saturday afternoon about a 58-year-old woman who was injured riding the trail to the Lake Elsina Warming Hut. After volunteers transported her part of the way out in the rescue toboggan behind a snowmobile, Lifeflight was able to land and flew her to Missoula where she was treated for head and chest injuries.

According to Missoula County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Robert Parcell, the woman from Floweree, Mont, northeast of Great Falls, was riding up to the Lake Elsina warming hut on the trail. She took a corner too fast and tipped. As she was tipping she hit the gas and her head hit the A-arm of another snowmobiler's ski that was parked off the trail. Then the sled rolled on top of her.

Other snowmobilers were able to pull the sled off her. While the woman had a helmet on, the A-arm put a cut in her face near her eye. She was also complaining of chest pain around her sternum, her ribs were bruised and Parcell said medical responders were concerned about possible neck injuries.

Missoula 9-1-1 Dispatch received the call at 12:35 p.m. Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane and Department volunteer Michael Richards rode in via snowmobile to assess the patient. SSSAR volunteers Gerry Connell, Auguste Lockwood and Ken Brochu were close behind on snowmobiles pulling SSSAR's rescue toboggan.

After the patient was assessed, packaged and loaded in the toboggan, they started transporting her back to the Westside Bypass Trailhead via Archibald Loop because it is a smoother route. The Seeley Lake ambulance was waiting at the Trailhead.

Lifeflight first landed at Clearwater Junction because the visibility was too poor to fly into the valley. However the clouds lifted enough to allow them to land at the Trailhead at 3:15 p.m.

The rescuers were able to find a landing zone enroute to the Trailhead so they requested Lifeflight fly to them. Lifeflight landed near the trail and she was flown to Missoula. Parcell said all the responders and members of the injured woman's party were back at the trailhead by 4:30 p.m.

"The operation went really smooth. It was a fairly easy one because she was on a trail, we knew where she was and she had all kinds of people there to assist her," said Parcell. "We even had guides that came down and said they could take us back to the point. That was great and so that really sped up things."

Parcell reminds riders to be careful even riding the trails. "If you loose control of your machine, accidents can happen and injuries result."