Hiker saved in 'nick of time'

There might have been no Christmas for a Colorado athlete if not for her dog, Taz, and Utah rescuers who brought her out of the southern Utah wilds with a broken pelvis.

Friday morning, Danelle Ballengee, now recuperating in a Denver hospital, was reunited with her dog, Taz, and had nothing but praise for the animal.

"Taz is my best friend. I go everywhere with Taz," Ballengee said from her hospital bed, where she is recovering from six hours of surgery to repair her broken pelvis. She also suffered severe frostbite on her feet, internal bleeding and numerous cuts and bruises. She spent two nights in sub-freezing temperatures before rescuers arrived.

"He saved my life; he gave me a second chance at life," Ballengee said of her adventuring sidekick. "When I was out there, I thought I was going to die. It would have been so easy just to die, and if it wasn't for Taz, I wouldn't be here right now. To be here with my friends and my family — it's a pretty special dog who can do something like that for you."

It was a fittingly Christmas-like ending to a story that could have been a tragedy.

When Ballengee slipped on a patch of ice and went off Hurrah Pass south of Moab on Dec. 13, she fell over three successive rock faces of 10 to 20 feet each — 60 feet in all — and likely would have gone unnoticed if Taz had not left her to go in search of help.

Eventually, he led rescuers on a five-mile journey to the accident site near the Amasa Back Trail.

The dog was clearly intent on leading help to his master, rescuers said. Ballengee's truck had been found at the trail head, prompting a search by the Grand County Search and Rescue Team.

After her fall, Taz stayed with her and kept her warm for two nights with temperatures dropping to the 20-degree range. When it became clear to Taz that his master wasn't going to get out of the canyon on her own, the 3-year-old German shepherd-golden retriever mix went back to the trail head for help, five miles away.

Doctors say Ballengee would have died if she hadn't been rescued when she was.

She is a two-time adventure-racing world champion and elite triathlete, trail runner and mountain biker.