Darkness forced an injured woman and her rescuers to spend the night in the rain and the cold over the weekend after she fell down the side of a mountain near Marsh Lake.

The 24-year-old woman was a member of a three-person geology team.

She was working on the north side of Mount Michie, about 10 km east of Marsh Lake, when she fell Saturday.

The woman told the RCMP she had been struck by a falling rock, which caused her to tumble approximately 15 metres (50 feet) down the mountain.

The Whitehorse Fire Department's specially trained rope rescue team was called into service by EMS at around 4:40 p.m. Saturday, platoon chief Don McKnight said today.

The team of five travelled by helicopter, arriving at the mountain top at around 6 p.m.

"Essentially, the team travelled several hundred feet down the rocky slope to reach her,” McKnight said.

The woman was stabilized on the side of the mountain and placed on a backboard.

Taking her back up the mountain the way she had fallen was too risky, the team decided.

Instead, she was brought down the mountain to a spot that would be safer for a helicopter pickup.

McKnight couldn't say exactly how far the team travelled to get to the bottom of the mountain with the woman, but said they were forced to reset their longest rope several times.

Unfortunately, by the time they reached the bottom, darkness had fallen and a helicopter rescue was no longer an option.

The team of five firefighters, a member of EMS, and one of the other geological team members carried the woman about 500 metres to a safe spot to camp.

A fire was started and tarps were used to create a shelter.

"Initially, we had radio communication, but once they got down into the valley, we only had spotty communications,” McKnight said.

The uninjured civilian and two of the firefighters attempted to walk to safety.

After making their way through thick bush and swamp, they were able to find the ATV and truck which the geological team had used for part of that day.

Eventually, they made it back to the road and were able to tell officials exactly where the make-shift campsite was located.

But it was too dangerous of a route to carry the injured woman out.

"The safest course of action for her was to stay put,” McKnight said.

So the remaining group spent the night —mostly in the rain— until a helicopter was able to pick them up at around 9 a.m. Sunday.

The woman was then taken to Whitehorse General Hospital.

Hospital spokesperson Val Pike said early this afternoon the woman was admitted to the hospital with a head injury and is currently being held for observation.

Her name has not been released.

McKnight said she was conscious for the rescue, and a police statement lists her condition as "stable.”

As for survival or overnight gear, McKnight said the team had "not a lot” available to them though they did have bottled water.

A meeting is planned for later this week for everyone involved to discuss changes for future rescues.

"We'll be having a debriefing to improve future responses to make sure any shortcomings during this incident don't happen at the next one,” McKnight said.

The platoon chief has nothing but praise for all individuals involved in the physically demanding rescue.

"They did an excellent job, from our prospective. This was a precarious and dangerous situation, and they saved her life,” he said.

"If she had stayed on the side of the mountain, she would have suffered from severe hypothermia.”