Skiers come to aid of girl after fall over cliff

What could have been a very bad accident was a comparatively lucky day Monday when a teenage skier slipped off a 60-foot cliff in Big Mountain's East Rim area.

Allison Grubb, 14, suffered only a 2- to 3-inch cut above her left eyebrow after she fell.

Two men skiing found her just minutes after she fell; they administered first aid and alerted the ski patrol.

"There's a lot of things that went right in this," Big Mountain Ski Patrol member Eric Sjoden said. "And she's a very lucky girl."

Grubb, of Kalispell, was skiing with a friend and the friend's mother when she broke off from them Monday around 1:30 p.m. to try a double-black-diamond run. Grubb is an experienced skier and had skied there before, but she was confused about how to avoid the cliffs, she said.

"I realized I was just right in the middle of everything," she said.

She stopped and took off her skis to walk away from the cliff. But she slipped.

"All I remember is slipping and falling off the rock," she said.

Grubb checked herself for injuries and noticed she had trouble opening her left eye.

"Then I felt my skull," she said.

Her forehead was cut and bleeding. Grubb wasn't wearing a helmet Monday, although she says she normally wears it when skiing in powder and around trees.

She called for help and two skiers heard her.

Ian Crawford, 23, and Justin Taylor, 28, responded quickly. Crawford is Taylor's companion in the DREAM program that pairs skiers with people with disabilities.

Crawford went to Grubb, who was conscious. Crawford wrapped her head in a T-shirt to stem the bleeding and checked her back for injuries.

He called instructions to Taylor to flag down the next skier and have him or her notify the ski patrol. About 30 minutes later, a man skied down and Taylor asked him to send for the ski patrol.

"That's very big for Justin to be able to do all that," Crawford said.

"I was glad we were there to help her out," Taylor said.

Crawford carried Grubb to the slope and the three waited for the ski patrol that responded within 10 minutes of notification, Crawford said. Taylor kept Grubb's mood light by making jokes and keeping her spirits up.

"The only way for me to keep from freaking out was to keep me laughing, so he helped out there for sure," Grubb said.

The ski patrol took her down the mountain in a sled and she was transported to North Valley Hospital to check for head injuries.

Grubb then went to a cosmetic surgeon in Whitefish who closed her wound with 14 stitches.

The ski patrol later returned to gather her gear, which had to be retrieved by roping the items because the cliff was too dangerous to approach on skis.

Grubb's father, Frank, credits Crawford for taking good care of his daughter.

"He's a hero," he said.

Both Sjoden and Crawford say Grubb's positive attitude was admirable.

"Allison is probably the toughest girl on the planet," Crawford said.

The ski patrol unofficially named the area "Allison's Chute" in honor of her. Although other parts of the East Rim area are named for accident victims, Grubb is the first female to have that honor, Sjoden says.

As for Grubb, is the fall enough to keep her off the slopes?

"No way," she said. "I'll be back out on Sunday."

But from now on, she says, she will wear a helmet regardless of the snow conditions.

Reporter Camden Easterling can be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at ceasterling@dailyinterlake.com