Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

October 22, 2026

Get Ready for a Safe Winter at the Wyoming Snow & Avalanche Workshop

Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

October 22, 2026

Two-day event highlights winter backcountry safety, and provides a free lunch, beer, vendors, and a huge raffle supporting TCSAR volunteers

Jackson, Wyo. — The 12th Annual Wyoming Snow & Avalanche Workshop is officially three weeks away. The two-day event focusing on backcountry safety begins with Pro Day at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, November 13, at the Center for the Arts. Rec Day, focused on all levels of backcountry users, begins at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 14, also at the Center.

Register ASAP to take full advantage of all six Rec Day Lunch ‘n Learn station options (they are filling fast!). And of course, spread the word to your favorite backcountry partners so that you feel safe with them, they feel safe with you, and you’ve got more juicy skills, topics, and questions to chat through on the skin track this winter.

Attending WYSAW is the best way to gather with folks from all corners of our awesome community before the winter starts to begin honing your backcountry safety systems. At both Pro Day (Friday, Nov 13) and Rec Day (Saturday, Nov 14), you’ll learn lessons from leading experts in the field of snow and avalanche safety and have the chance to win some great raffle prizes in support of TCSAR volunteers.

A sneak peek of some presenters and topics you don’t want to miss…

Stepping Out with a Persistent Weak Layer: A Panel (Pro Day)
Wind Slabs vs Storm Slabs w/ Nata De Leeuw (Rec Day)
A Deep Dive Into Fracture Propagation + Mechanics w/ Dave Hamre (Rec Day Lunch ‘n Learn station)
SAR Response Assessment and Decision Making in Avalanche Terrain w/ Jen Reddy (Pro Day)
Creating Inclusive Communication and Group Consensus w/ Julz Holder (Rec Day)
Navigating The Terrain Between My Ears w/ Zahan Billimoria (Rec Day)
Using the BTAC Big Sheet to Make Decisions w/ Eeva Latosuo and Alex Drinkard (Rec Day Lunch ‘n Learn station)

Click here to register and see the full list of phenomenal speakers on the WYSAW docket. We can't wait to see you at some or all of our programming!

WYSAW is made possible by these generous sponsors:

Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

May 11, 2026

A Conversation about Grief and Loss: Join Us May 20

Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

May 11, 2026

This winter was heavy, as our local, regional, and global backcountry communities suffered profound loss. As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we are here to say that you are not alone in trying to navigate and process grief after a particularly troubling winter.

Teton County Search & Rescue is acutely aware of how deeply our community hurts after a backcountry fatality. And while we are not in the business of making that grief disappear, we are here to start the conversation about what community resources, clinical tools, and stories of survival might help.

With support from Teton County Public Health and Teton Interagency Peer Support (TIPS), TCSAR invites you to attend a very special conversation about mental health at the Black Diamond store on Wednesday, May 20.

Panelists include TCSAR Board member Sara Adamson, TCSAR volunteer Brook Yeomans, and TCSAR volunteer Doug Van Houten. Clinician Lynnette Gaertner, LCSW, will serve as moderator.

The panel will share personal perspectives, practical resources, and pathways for support in the wake of tragedy.

All are welcome, whether you are navigating your own experience or showing up for others. Professional, trauma-informed clinicians will be present in the case you need someone to talk to during the event. Please register, as space is limited.

Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

October 14, 2025

Heritage Night Draws 3,000 In Support of Western Spirit & International Rescue

Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation

October 14, 2025

It started with a simple idea. With Teton County Search & Rescue being the host organization for the 2025 International Commission for Alpine Rescue, the team’s volunteers wanted to have a public event that showcased Jackson’s rich Western Heritage in front of a crowd filled with rescuers from around the world. Could they throw a Wild West show at the Fairgrounds during the offseason? How would they pull it off? And, it being held outside the normal rodeo season, would anyone show up?

During every ICAR, which is held each year in a different location, the host organization produces a Heritage Night to show off their local culture, art and history. But throughout the more than 70-years of ICAR, Heritage Night is almost never a public event. That was different this year in Jackson Hole.

Teton County Search & Rescue felt it was important to bring the public into the ICAR fold to help the 600 mostly international attendees get a taste of the culture of the American West. With community being an integral component of TCSAR’s culture and support, the team opened Heritage Night to all. In the end, the Jackson community showed up big time, with an estimated 3,000 people in attendance for the free show. More than 45 local vendors provided a vibrant backdrop to Heritage Night, illustrating the valley’s extensive art and business community.

Photo Gallery by David Bowers

The event began with all TCSAR volunteers and TCSAR Foundation staff members lined up in the middle of the Fairgrounds arena, where Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart thanked the crowd and framed the culture of the West as being intertwined with the Search & Rescue idea and ethos of “locals helping locals.”

Miss Rodeo Wyoming Kate Budge. Photo: Griffin Kerwin

Then, Miss Rodeo Wyoming Kate Budge, a seventh-generation Jackson local, galloped around the arena hold the American flag during the singing of the national anthem by Adrian Croke. Teton County Commission Mark Newcomb read the land acknowledgement, helping international visitors understand the cultural significance of the Native American tribes who lived and subsisted off the land we now call home.

TCSAR volunteer and Heritage Night emcee Ian Johnston took over the microphone to introduce representatives from the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative. Singers and dancers from the Initiative demonstrated a “ReMatriate” ceremony, where they brought the buffalo to life.

Afterward, it was onto the main event by the Jackson Hole Rodeo. While the rodeo is a mainstay at the Fairgrounds throughout the summer, this rodeo was a special offseason event. It included some of the nation’s very best cowboys and cowgirls on buckin’ broncs, bull riding, barrel racing, and calf roping.

A highlight was the “Grab the bull by the horns” event, in which ICAR attendees teamed up in groups of three. In this timed event, the teams had to chase down a steer, remove the rope around its head, and return to the bucking chute. Whichever team could do so the fastest was crowned champion. Teams from Austria and France went up against SAR teams from Teton and Sublette counties. Perhaps it wasn’t a fair fight, as the home team from TCSAR took the crown. Chalk it up to homegrown dirt.

Photo Gallery by Griffin Kerwin

Thank you to our ICAR sponsors, and to all the vendors who joined us at Heritage Night

ICAR Jackson Hole is sponsored by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and Snow King Mountain, with additional support from Airbus, Arc’teryx, and Bell, as well as CalTopo, Momentous, Motorola, Rocky Talkie, CMC, Backcountry Access, Breeze Eastern, and Safeback. Local business support comes from: Jackson Hole Still Works, Lockhart Cattle Co., Roadhouse Brewing Co., Snake River Brewing, Snake River Roasting Co., Stinky Prints, and The Liquor Store and Wine Loft. TCSAR is enormously grateful for this critical support.