TCSAR and JH Ski Patrol Team Up For Injured Skier

Jackson, Wyo. — Just past noon on Thursday, February 19, Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert from the Jackson Hole Ski Patrol requesting helicopter assistance for an injured skier outside the resort boundary. The 44-year-old female from Jackson had sustained an injury while skiing an area known as Four Pines and was unable to ski out on her own.

Coordinating with Jackson Hole Ski Patrol, Teton County Search & Rescue deployed a heli team to pick up an injured skier in the backcountry of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. Photo: TCSAR

As they often do in such incidents, ski patrol made the initial response. After assessing the patient’s injury, patrol called TCSAR for heli assistance. TCSAR fired up the ship and flew to the scene. Coordinating with patrol, the team landed nearby and loaded the patient for internal transport to the base of Teton Village, completing the mission in 1 hour, 35 minutes.

Big shout out to Jackson Hole Ski Patrol for their help in coordinating this rescue effort.

TCSAR and JH Ski Patrol Coordinate Rescue of Injured Skier

Just before 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 31, Teton County Search & Rescue received a call from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Ski Patrol for helicopter assistance to evacuate an injured skier from the resort-adjacent backcountry. 

The view of No Shadows from the top of the line. This photo is not from the incident described. Photo: Maddie Johnson

The skier in question—a 33-year-old male—had fallen and sustained injuries while skiing No Shadows, a run off the north shoulder of Cody Peak. No Shadows is a well-known ski descent that lies outside the resort boundary. To access this area, skiers must leave the resort and hike an exposed ridgeline to the top of the line.

After ski patrol responded and requested heli assistance, TCSAR mobilized a heli crew consisting of the pilot and two volunteers. Coordinating with ski patrol, the heli team was able to land near the patient and load him for internal transport. The helicopter then transported the patient to a landing zone at the base of Teton Village, from where the patient was transferred to higher medical care.

TCSAR appreciates the coordination and partnership with Jackson Hole Ski Patrol to help resolve this incident in 1 hour, 35 minutes.

TCSAR Rescues Skiers from Teton Pass

Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers responded to two separate incidents on Monday and Tuesday, January 12 and 13, on Teton Pass. Both calls involved backcountry skiers suffering lower leg injuries that prevented them from exiting the backcountry on their own.

At 3:43 p.m. on Monday, January 12, TCSAR received an alert of an injured female skier in the area of the Do-It Chutes (pictured). The skier was located in a timbered chute several hundred feet above Hwy 22.

TCSAR responded with a short-haul team in the helicopter, and placed skiers on the ground as backup. The helicopter inserted two volunteers directly on scene, where they were able to package the patient for transport. The team then short-hauled the patient to a waiting ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS at the Coal Creek parking lot, completing the mission in 3 hours, 17 minutes.

At 10:28 a.m. on Tuesday, January 13, the volunteers were paged for an injured male skier in the Black Canyon area of Mount Elly. TCSAR responded with a helicopter team, while a ski team was positioned as backup on the top of Teton Pass. 

With the patient being about 400 feet below the summit of Elly, the helicopter landed in an open field of snow uphill from the scene. With the help of the man’s ski partners, TCSAR volunteers carried the patient up the hill to be placed inside the helicopter. The heli then transported him and the rescuers to the TCSAR HQ in Jackson. All team members were out of the field by noon, completing the mission in less than 2 hours.