Girl Recovers after Fall from Snake River Canyon Rim

Nov. 20--TWIN FALLS-- Tasha Packham doesn't remember the fall. But loose foliage slipped from under her feet, sending her sliding down a steep slope of the Snake River Canyon and then off the cliff.

Tasha landed on a sloped ledge about 50 feet down but could have fallen 400 feet farther if not for sagebrush that stopped her in her path, her friends said.

A dozen friends had been celebrating Nov. 9, spending the morning four-wheeling before the Sadie Hawkins Day dance at Kimberly High School.

They stopped for lunch at a spot near the south side of the canyon rim, between 3600 East and 3700 East.

Ali Heider and Kalem Olsen were taking a picture when they heard Tasha's boyfriend, Jordon Egbert, scream.

They turned to see Tasha, 17, sliding down the slope.

"She slid 10 feet, then went off the ledge about 50 feet," Kalem said Tuesday, as his friend lay sleeping in her bed at St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center.

Someone along the rim called 911. Ali hugged Jordon and told him it would be OK.

Then she and Kalem prayed and began descending the side of the canyon, moving to whatever footholds they could find.

"They slid down on a wing and a prayer," said Tasha's father, Chad Packham.

The 15-minute climb down the sheer cliff seemed to take an eternity, the 17-year-olds said.

"We both stopped and looked at each other," said Ali. "I almost was going to cry, but I didn't because I knew that wasn't going to help anything."

Each time they got stuck, they would pause, feel waves of calm sweep over them, and find their footing on the next tiny ledge.

"I promise that there were angels there," Ali said. "I think back, and I know they were pushing us against the rocks."

The two made it safely down. But, Kalem said, "I would never climb down there again."

Paramedics later told them they didn't know how the teenagers made it down safely.

Once Kalem and Ali were at the bottom with Tasha, they said, they could tell she was badly hurt but would be OK.

Nearly an hour elapsed between the 911 call and the first paramedic's arrival at Tasha's side.

"That was the longest hour of my whole life," Ali said.

They passed the time by praying, singing songs and telling stories, trying to keep Tasha calm until help arrived.

Ali, a lifeguard, and Kalem, who has CPR training, knew not to move her and to check for vital signs.

Eventually, because of her pain, the two adjusted her legs. That's when they saw Tasha's father looking over the edge of the canyon.

"I told her, 'I love you.' I said 'I love you Tash,' and she smiled," Chad said.

When he got the call that his daughter had been in an accident, he assumed it was an ATV crash.

She might have injuries, he knew, but she always wore her helmet when four-wheeling.

"I got there, and they were all looking over the canyon and I died," he said. "I expected to see her dead."

Then he peered over the edge. He could see Tasha with her friends, who gave him the thumbs-up sign.

"I knew she'd be OK," he said.

Finally, paramedics who had rappelled the cliff brought Tasha up on a backboard. She was taken by air ambulance to St. Luke's.

More than 40 personnel from the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office and Search and Rescue, St. Luke's staff, Rock Creek Fire Department, Fish and Game and the BLM assisted in the rescue. All were incredibly helpful, said Ali and Kalem.

Tasha sustained a compound fracture in her left leg, breaking the tibia and fibula, a collapsed lung, a tailbone severed from her spine, and several minor injuries, said her mother, Shawntelle Packham.

Shawntelle said Tasha must stay off her left leg for about eight more weeks and is headed to rehabilitation in Boise soon.

So far, Tasha is doing "amazing" in her recovery, her mother said.

Girls from her school dance team have come by, saying they can't imagine being on the team without her, and Tasha's the one cheering them up, encouraging them on, Shawntelle said. "All she wants to get back to is dancing."

Tasha's passions are her dance team and horseback riding. Doctors said she won't be able to get on a horse for about a year, but she won't lose any range of motion from her injuries.

After waking up Tuesday afternoon, Tasha said her recovery is going well, but she's a little nervous about doing rehabilitation away from home.

"Humans defy the odds all the time," Chad said. "It's what you're willing to go through to get it."

Copyright 2013 - The Times-News, Twin Falls, Idaho