Jackson, Wyo. — At 11:42 a.m. on Friday, February 20, Teton County Search & Rescue was called with a report of an injured snowmobiler in the Mosquito Creek area. A 32-year-old male had sustained multiple injuries after his machine hit a stump.

A team of Jackson Hole Ski Patrollers, which included a TCSAR volunteer, was in the area doing their own training. They were able to locate the patient and began assessing his injuries.

TCSAR responded with a helicopter team and sent snowmobile teams to the area as backup. The heli team was equipped with short-haul gear in case the ship could not land. Short-haul is a rescue method in which rescuers and patient can be picked up from the scene by a long rope connected to the belly of the helicopter. In this case, the pilot found a suitable place to land, and the team loaded the patient internally for a short flight to a waiting ambulance at the TCSAR headquarters in Jackson.

Start to finish, 14 SAR personnel wrapped up this rescue in around two hours.