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(Graphic) Female Hiker Breaks Ankle and Then Records Humor-Filled Video While Awaiting Rescue

Content warning: graphic photos and video below.

When a Colorado State University student broke her ankle hiking on a Wyoming mountain Aug. 11, her response was not what you might expect. Instead of crying, screaming or fainting from pain, 21-year-old Alexandra DeForest filmed a candid commentary about her situation.

Fox News reports DeForest saying she filmed herself to help calm her nerves.

Alexandra DeForest Films Candid Self Dialogue About her Broken Ankle as She Waits for Rescue on a Wyoming Mountain

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

“I guess it was to take my mind off of what had happened, and to give myself some peace in knowing that I was still level-headed,” DeForest told Fox News. ”Speaking out loud and my stream-of-consciousness settled me. I was talking about my loved ones and my dog. Anything to keep me from staring at my ankle. It was pretty gross.”

However gross, DeForest wasn’t shy at filming her grotesquely twisted ankle for all of YouTube to see. Since posting the video Wednesday of last week DeForest’s story has gone viral and has been called a “127-hours-style video” (a nod to Aron Ralston who was stuck while rock climbing and cut off his own arm to free himself).

Alexandra DeForest Films Candid Self Dialogue About her Broken Ankle as She Waits for Rescue on a Wyoming Mountain

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

In the video, DeForest has a frank dialogue with herself, beginning to show off her ankle and saying “you would think you would be better at this by now, this walking thing.

“This is me moving my foot, and it’s really gross,” she continues. “I’d show you more but if I looked at it, I might vomit on myself. And no one wants to see that … But, I don’t know first-aid for a foot that is not attached to your ankle. Um, I am doing the best I can. The good thing is I can‘t feel it so can’t be mad at that.

“I am really scared, but in like the calmest, coolest sense.”

Watch DeForest’s full video (Warning: Strong language):

Fox reports DeForest saying she and a friend, Erik Henry, arrived at the mountain at 5 p.m. wanting to watch the sun set and planned on camping out. After the sun had gone down when the two were heading to a camp site, they came to a trench. DeForest explained she edged toward the trench to see if she could make the jump across it and ended up slipping and falling into it:

“I had a moment of freaking out. I looked at my ankle at it was detached. I felt blood all over me, my knees and elbows were cut, and my plan immediately was to crawl down the mountain.”

Crawling proved too painful, so Henry carried DeForest before his muscles tired. Then and at DeForest’s prodding, he left his friend to summon help. It was a little after 8 p.m.

It was then that DeForest recalled the camera in her bag, and created the popular video.

Among many tidbits in the video and “shout-outs”, DeForest thanks her friend Chris for encouraging her to get her fishing license, which means she won’t need to pay for search and rescue in this situation. The video ends with DeForest yelling toward Henry and her rescuers saying she’s fine and “can’t wait to hear what you have to say.”

DeForest began the semester of her senior year Monday. Even though Fox confirms she will not be going to Prague, DeForest is still seeing the good that came of her situation, noting that she and Henry are now dating each other.

Read more details of DeForest’s rescue and her thoughts on the situation as a whole here.

(H/T: KDVR)

Comments (49)

1 2
  • Bobaz
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 8:18pm

    What kind of dumb azz goes hiking in jogging shoes like she is wearing. Oh, I forgot. She’s a college student. Probably a “Women’s Studies” major.

    What a waste of time this is. I’m embarrassed for watching it and then actually posting a comment.

    Report Post »  
    • aZjimbo
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 9:46pm

      Ditto.

      Report Post »  
    • LuvsYeshua
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 11:23pm

      It’s called Moral Hazard. Since everyone is guaranteed to be seen in an ER and everyone knows the Search and Rescue team will spend the average annual salary in one day to fire up the Medivac to come rescue us, we take on a tremendous amount of risk without any self-resuce plans or training of our own. All we know is, “we want to do the cool, fun stuff and if it goes awry, someone had better save us.”

      It’s like this, if there was no such thing as auto insurance, we would all drive our $50,000 cars about 25 MPH, come to complete stops at intersections and not drive aggressively.

      It’s the same reason banks took on soooo much risk, because the gub’ment backed them. And it‘s the same reason our gub’ment spends so much because their insurance policy is the power to tax and/or print.

      We are trying to create a society free of consequences, and it’s crumbling us.

      Report Post »  
    • lenati
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 6:26am

      Please, screaming in pain I broke the tibia & fibia [both ankle bones] had no pain at all had surgery with a steel plate & 8 srews. I was 63 years old at the time .

      Report Post »  
    • Amarath01
      Posted on August 21, 2012 at 9:11am

      Hey guy who acts better than everyone else, for shot and lightweight hiking tennis shoes are preferred by many people and groups and is widely accepted.

      she might have misstep even or does something risky that hiking boots wouldn’t have stopped, we both don’t know but to judge someone without the facts is an err.

      Report Post »  
  • busterpuddles
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 8:05pm

    @WOODYEE:

    Good back ground music for your comment- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-LArv-sEQU

    Report Post » busterpuddles  
  • pfrancis
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 7:28pm

    I think she is HIGH on DRUGS !!

    Report Post »  
    • Two Sheds
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 7:51pm

      Nope she is in pain. Her foot is upside down. Go ahead and try that Mr. Yogameister! I’m sure you would just sit there quietly looking at the tree. Been in the Service 22 years and I’ve seen people with all kinds of crazy injuries; they deal with it in many ways. I like that she wasn’t a screamer. She did need a 44Mag for those bears.

      One thing I would like to point out is that “Wyoming does have lotsa cool rocks in ****.”

      Report Post » Two Sheds  
  • mudguy
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 6:30pm

    What waste of time. DOMB

    Report Post »  
    • stegokitty
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 6:44pm

      Reading your comment was a waste of time.
      I admire the girl.
      You, not so much.

      Report Post »  
  • Lee123
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 6:02pm

    The young folks sure are different today. Video everything. I had a similar broken ankle 12 years ago and it never would have occurred to me to take a picture of it. I didn’t even watch this video after the first 15 seconds. Didn’t need a reminder of what that felt like.

    For whoever was wondering in the previous comment, yes they almost certainly fixed her ankle. With enough metal a good surgeon can work wonders. Mine took a metal plate, 9 screws and 2 lag bolts but he saved it. It’s stiff but still works.

    Report Post »  
    • stegokitty
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 6:45pm

      Yeah, it’s all about you, right?
      I think it’s about the girl with the painful broken foot, finding a way to deal with it.
      I’m sure you just cried like a little baby.
      I probably would have.

      Report Post »  
  • anothercomment
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 4:38pm

    Been waiting for this one…saw it this morning on Fox.
    Yea, Wyoming sucks because Colorado (Alex), you blow….how about a “shout out” to your rescuers…..

    Report Post » anothercomment  
    • BuzzardSays
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 5:35pm

      I enjoyed Colorado in my Air Force days 1980, at Lowry AFB, where I could motorcycle into the mountains for hiking and fishing on the weekends. Colorado was beautiful back then before it turned into the Denver mega-city it has become. There was actually open territory between Denver and Boulder then…and even openness in the mountains up I70. Now it is just housing, housing everywhere. What a shame! Looks like this young lady experienced something I sometimes worried about on my one-man sojourns into the back country. She handled it very well. And “All’s well as ends better”.

      Report Post » BuzzardSays  
    • anothercomment
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 7:09pm

      Several points are not covered here:
      She wore the absolutely wrong shoes for the area. Notice the running shoes? (bent upside down at the ankle). These are not for jumping rock crevasses and boulders – or for that matter running from bears.
      She paid for the recreation area rescue system, and then while using it, she criticizes Vedauwoo (what Arapahoe Indians call the Land of the Earthborn Sprit) Recreation Area and the state of Wyoming.
      Note that this rescue occurred at night, which requires extra precautions from responders, and she complains about the response time.
      Apparently this seems to be a hobby of Alex (falling into crevasses) perhaps a little more training in outdoor safety and emergency readiness would be appropriate.
      If Greenies and Alex feel that “Wyoming, You Suck”, then don’t come here. You have plenty of rocks; we are not your back yard. Alex’s “progressive” attitude in not taking responsibility for her own actions, as well as an obviously immaturity noted by her vivid video dialogue of the incident, indicates the lack of skill for this type of outdoor recreation.
      Buzzard, I understand the lure of one person day trips into the high country (to clear the head and marvel at the spectacular views) but just as in other potentially dangerous sports – never, never trek alone….remember the movie 127 Hours, it’s a true horror story, watered down to make into a movie.

      Report Post » anothercomment  
  • blair152
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 4:35pm

    This is like one of those “lost footage” films like The Blair Witch Project, and more recently, Apollo XVIII.

    Report Post »  
  • GO-FOR-LIBERTY
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:23pm

    Thanks Blaze for posting this video and her story. What a reprieve from the politcal turmoil that is here day after day.

    Report Post »  
  • OneTermPresident
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:15pm

    Second time it’s happened…. she might want to think about investing in a pair of ankle braces. Great attitude though.

    Report Post » OneTermPresident  
  • izukiddin
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:03pm

    Tough little gal.

    Report Post »  
  • shakedowncrews
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:56pm

    My thoughts:
    1) OUCH
    2) Here is a young woman left alone in the dark in the mountains with a broken ankle, and she has the presence of mind to set her mind to a task that will prevent panic and shock. Shock can kill, it’s not a laughing matter, and her attitude is amazing. I’ve seen many wilderness injuries, none so far as bad as this, and I’ve seen males who would not have reacted so calmly. She has a survivor’s mentality, and I’m impressed.
    3) She is funnier than any of the SNL skits, which admittedly is setting the bar pretty low, but this girl is funnier with a broken ankle than the writers for SNL are on their best days. I’m impressed.
    4) She is cute as a button. If my son brought home a girl like this, I’d say “Marry her. She’s a keeper.”

    Report Post » shakedowncrews  
    • Black Tiger
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 2:06pm

      *cringe* Ooh, that hurts me just looking at it. >.< Glad she was calm about it and not panic.

      Report Post »  
  • woodyee
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:35pm

    It would have been pretty cool to have a hare jump across her lap as she panned away to signal…

    She’d been out of there so fast, she’d have left that ankle behind!

    Report Post » woodyee  
  • Daveed
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:31pm

    I am glad it all worked out for her and she scored a boyfriend. Let’s mention the young man who went for help for her, when he could not longer keep carrying her. Happy ending! Dang, I love those happy endings.

    Report Post »  
  • Amarilloan
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:26pm

    Wonderful attitude, but not my favorite thing to look at.

    Report Post »  
  • Mahakala
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:17pm

    What a strong young woman. She is an inspiration.

    Report Post » Mahakala  
  • SICKOFTHECRAP
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:12pm

    I love her outlook! She’s going to go far (hopefully not over any more trenches).

    Report Post »  
  • hauschild
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:07pm

    “I am really scared, but in “like” the calmest, coolest sense.”

    I don‘t think I’ve ever grown more repulsed by a spoken word in my lifetime. Most people can’t utter 10 words without saying it. How in the hell did this word break into the masses vocabulary? Was it that “valley girls” craze back in day? Figures, something obnoxious and repulsive originating from a bankrupt state.

    Report Post »  
    • woodyee
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:32pm

      Like, what are you, like, talking about?

      Definitely “Valley Girl” speak. If that didn’t make you want to grind your teeth into stumps, what about the way they ended each statement in the form of a question:

      “Like, I saw Randy in the Quad yesterday? And he was like, “Oh, I can’t let Michelle, like, see me?”, and he was acting like, so shy – TOTALLY!”

      Report Post » woodyee  
  • Brem
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:05pm

    She definitely removed all doubt

    Report Post »  
  • teddrunk
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:05pm

    Lucky for her, unlucky for hungry wolves. Life goes on.

    Report Post »  
  • Karama
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:03pm

    Ohh wow! Talk about grace under pressure! This lady is awesome. Get well soon.

    Report Post » Karama  
  • Jayms
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 12:59pm

    Neither article tells me: did they save her foot? She says it was “detached”.

    Report Post »  
  • RightUnite
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 12:57pm

    Ei-yi-yi-yi-yi!! Hope it turned out ok…

    Report Post »  
  • cliffattheblaze
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 12:55pm

    This is one gal that I’d like on my side in an emergency.

    Report Post »  
  • 19RANDY59
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 12:50pm

    This proves that women can‘t even shut up when they’re alone.

    Report Post » 19RANDY59  
  • the_system_disconnect
    Posted on August 20, 2012 at 12:44pm

    my ankles feel kind of fragile now…

    Report Post » the_system_disconnect  
    • Cybil
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 1:45pm

      I know, really! I felt the same way.

      Report Post »  
    • Sy Kosys
      Posted on August 20, 2012 at 5:50pm

      Kinda like that ONE scene in ‘Misery’…

      (shivers)

      Report Post » Sy Kosys  
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