Hot off the Press: The 2025 Midyear Rescue Report

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue had one of its busiest winters ever, according to the organization’s 2025 Midyear Review and Rescue Report. 

Between December 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, TCSAR reported 64 calls for service. That figure rivals nearly the entire number of calls for many years before 2021, when annual calls for service took a dramatic jump. In the past six months, February saw the most calls with 18, while January had 13. After a relatively quiet March and April, the team saw a spike in May with 13 calls for service.

Most of the calls this winter came from skiers and snowboarders, which alerted TCSAR 27 times. The majority of those calls, 18, were from skiers and snowboarders who entered the backcountry from a resort boundary gate. Many of these lift-served backcountry incidents were handled by local ski patrol, underscoring the critical partnership between TCSAR and our three local ski resorts.

A big theme for this winter had to do with stuck or stranded snowmobilers. Snowmachiners accounted for 17 rescue calls, with five rescues leading to all-night operations from TCSAR volunteers.

“In the thick of rescue season, heading out into a storm at night starts to feel normal—but it is not. Whenever I can step back and get some perspective on the TCSAR Team, I am amazed that an ordinary group of community volunteers are able to come together, risk their lives, and go into the mountains to save people they’ve never met.”

— Cody Lockhart, TCSAR Chief Advisor

The Rescue Report is published twice yearly by TCSAR Foundation, the nonprofit that supports TCSAR volunteers and provides backcountry safety education and outreach. The reports are intended to highlight the commitment and dedication of TCSAR volunteers, provide lessons learned from backcountry accidents, and drive awareness for improving backcountry safety.

The new Rescue Report includes the following:

• Incident recaps from every call that came into TCSAR from December 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025.

• A deeper look at the trend of overnight snowmobile rescues.

• How backcountry users can use the satellite text-to-911 feature on Apple iPhones.

• Graphs and stats that reveal backcountry accident trends and demographics. 

• Backcountry safety education highlights from the last six months.

Rescue Reports are available for free, and can be found at participating businesses all over Jackson Hole. Digital versions are available for download at at the button below.

Latest Rescue Has TCSAR Helping Mountain Biker in Black Canyon

Jackson, Wyo. — At 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, June 25, Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert regarding an injured mountain biker in Black Canyon. The biker, a local 27-year-old woman, was descending the trail when she clipped a tree and went over the handlebars. The crash caused injuries that prevented her from riding or walking out on her own.

TCSAR volunteers transport an injured mountain biker down the Black Canyon trail on June 25, 2025. Photo: TCSAR

Without cell service in the canyon, the woman’s companion pedaled back up the trail until she could make an emergency call, and then returned to the scene. A TCSAR volunteer who lives near Wilson responded directly and ran up the trail from the Old Pass Road trailhead. This volunteer was followed by other volunteers on foot and on bikes.

Once on scene, the volunteers assessed the woman’s condition and packaged her for transport in the wheeled litter. The team transported the patient in the litter for about three miles down to the Old Pass Road, where a family member drove her to higher medical care.

As a friendly reminder, here are some options to help backcountry users contact 911 when there is little to no cellular service:

• BackcountrySOS is a free app that allows you to connect to dispatch with minimal cell service. A great option for those who live in the region.

• New Apple iPhones have satellite text-to-911 capability, as long as you have a clear view of the sky and horizon.

• Satellite communication devices, such as the Garmin inReach, can connect you to emergency services as well, and require a subscription.

Warm Weather Sparks Summer Rescue Season for TCSAR

After the busiest May ever for Teton County Search & Rescue, June continues to keep the volunteers on their toes. Since June 1, the team has been called five times, with an additional two calls from Grand Teton National Park for emergency helicopter assistance.

TCSAR ramps up for a busy summer rescue season during a training session in May 2025. Photo: TCSAR

The increase in callouts correlates with the number of people getting out into the backcountry. With warm, relatively dry weather drawing people outdoors, TCSAR encourages everyone to remember to be prepared, practiced, and present in the backcountry, no matter your chosen activity.

“It’s been a particularly beautiful spring and early summer,” said TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart. “People started getting out and about on the river, on the trails, and on their bikes, a bit earlier than normal this year. Not surprisingly, rescues followed suit.”

The most recent calls for TCSAR included a hiker experiencing a medical issue on Sheep Mountain on the evening of June 9. A helicopter team from TCSAR departed Jackson and was able to land near the hikers. The volunteers then treated the patient in the field and flew her back to Jackson for higher medical care.

Then, around 10 p.m. on June 9, TCSAR was alerted to a 19-year-old male who hadn’t returned from a hike up Moose Creek. Two volunteers met at the trailhead and began hiking up the drainage around 11:30 p.m. They found a large moose, but no hiker. They continued to search through the night and eventually called it off at 4 a.m. The team began looking again at 5:30 a.m. The hiker eventually alerted his family that he had made it back to the trailhead at 6:30 a.m.

TCSAR volunteers train for all kinds of rescues. Photo: TCSAR

On the evening of June 11, numerous people called in to report that a speed flyer (a low-flying type of paraglider) had crashed on Snow King Mountain. About 20 personnel from TCSAR and the Sheriff’s Office searched the area for a possibly injured patient. At about 10 p.m., the search was called off after nobody was found.

After a mostly quiet spring, the month of May included 14 calls for service, the most ever for that time of year for TCSAR. The calls included two swiftwater alerts on the Snake River near Astoria; a crashed speed flyer; a stranded motorist near Cave Falls; three calls for missing or overdue children; an injured horseback rider; two injured mountain bikers at the same location on Teton Pass; and overdue bear hunters in the Gros Ventre Mountains.

Lockhart pointed out how this wide diversity of backcountry activities means that the volunteers must also have the relative skills to respond.

“It shows the breadth of recreational activities that people are doing, and the skills that the team needs to have to sort out those problems,” he said.

If you’re heading out, please have a plan, let someone know where you are going, know your limitations, and bring the appropriate gear for your chosen activity.

Anyone who has a backcountry emergency is encouraged to call 911 as soon as possible.