Back country skier safe after injuring leg

Search crews retrieve an injured skier near Emerald Bay on Feb. 26. Photo/EDSO

A 56-year-old Truckee woman had to be evacuated from Desolation Wilderness on Sunday night after sustaining an injury.

She was skiing with a group near Eagle Buttress, which is north of Eagle Lake. The leg injury prevented her from getting out of the back country on her own.

The wind was so strong on Feb. 26 that a helicopter could not be used.

El Dorado and Douglas counties search teams skied and snowshoed to her. They used a cascade toboggan to get her to safety; then she was transported to Barton Memorial Hospital.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report