An injured backcountry skier was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of a group of first responders.

On Saturday around 5:15 p.m., the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation received a report of an injured backcountry skier who sustained an unstable lower leg injury after skiing a steep section of the Devils Path on the Hunter West-Kill Wilderness Area.

Rangers responded to the Notch Lake Trailhead off Route 214 and hiked nearly a mile up to the patient where several volunteers, Hunter police officers and a New York State Police officer were already with the injured skier.

Rangers began setting up a steep angle rope system with a hand line for the evacuation. The skier was hypo-wrapped and packaged in a sled and was evacuated using a steep angle rope system, officials say.

The Rangers and volunteers worked through steep, icy conditions with frigid temperatures throughout the night and were able to get the patient out by 1:30 a.m. Sunday. The skier was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital by Hunter Ambulance.

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