TCSAR Responds Again to No Name Peak

Just before 1 p.m. on Friday, April 12, Teton County Search & Rescue received a call regarding an injured snowboarder on No Name Peak. It was the second time in the last 10 days that the volunteers were called out to No Name, a large mountain prized by local skiers and snowboarders for its steep and immense northeast-facing slope. It is typically accessed from the boundary gates at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and is uncontrolled backcountry terrain.

TCSAR volunteers respond to a snowboarder who was injured riding No Name Peak on April 12, 2024. Photo: TCSAR

The snowboarder, a local male, had been severely injured after striking rocks while descending the peak. TCSAR volunteers were able to communicate directly with the patient over the phone, and informed him the team would be arriving by helicopter.

Within 25 minutes of receiving the initial rescue call, the TCSAR helicopter lifted off with two volunteers and pilot on board. As they approached No Name, they could easily see the patient from the air and landed within 50 feet of his location. Jackson Hole Ski Patrollers, en route from the top of the aerial tram, arrived on scene simultaneously. 

After assessing the man’s injuries and treating him, the team loaded him internally into the helicopter for transport. The team then flew the patient to the TCSAR hangar where they transferred him to a waiting ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. 

The entire mission was completed in 58 minutes. TCSAR appreciates the partnerships that allow the volunteers to bring injured patients out of the backcountry and into higher medical care.

TCSAR would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that they should dial 911 in case of a backcountry emergency. If you have cellular service, that is the quickest and most efficient way to get a rescue started.

TCSAR Recues Injured Skier on No Name Peak

At 2:19 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2, Teton County Search & Rescue was called regarding an injured skier on No Name Peak south of the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. The skier, a 37-year-old local, became injured after falling through a cliff band that hangs off the lower skier’s right section of the mountain’s prominent northeast slope.

These two photos show the skier’s tracks going into a cliff band in the lower section of No Name Peak. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR responded with two volunteers in the helicopter, while JHMR dispatched two ski patrollers who approached from the top of the tram. Once TCSAR arrived on scene, the ship set down in the bowl below the peak, and one volunteer was able to traverse over to the injured skier and his party. The other volunteer stayed with the ship to rig for short-haul, a method of rescue in which a patient can be transported out of the backcountry via a long rope connected to the helicopter.

The team then placed the skier in a screamer suit—a full-body harness that gets clipped into the long line—and flew him and the SAR volunteers to the landing zone at the base of Teton Village, where they met an ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.

Thanks to the JHMR Ski Patrol and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS for the partnership in helping to get this skier out of the backcountry and to higher medical care.

TCSAR Completes Two Rescues, Involving Multiple Agencies, on February 22

On Thursday, February 22, Teton County Search & Rescue responded to two calls that involved multiple agencies across the county: The first was for an injured snowboarder in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry, and the second for an injured snowmobiler in the Togwotee Pass area.

The TCSAR helicopter comes in for a landing during a rescue on Togwotee Pass, on February 22, 2024. Photo: TCSAR

The initial call came in at 11:49 a.m. and concerned a 46-year-old female snowboarder who was injured to the south of JHMR. The woman had crashed on her snowboard between the two bootpacks that lead to an area known as Four Pines. JHMR Ski Patrol responded and provided initial patient care. Once on scene, patrol requested helicopter assistance from TCSAR, which flew to the accident site and landed near the patient. The team loaded her internally into the ship and flew back to the TCSAR hangar where she was transferred to a waiting ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS.

TCSAR’s second call of the day occurred at 1:54 p.m. A 19-year-old male sustained injuries after crashing his snowmobile into a tree on the K Trail, which is east of Mount Leidy. TCSAR again fired up the ship and flew to Windy Point in Grand Teton National Park to pick up two rangers who would assist in the rescue. Also on board were the pilot and one TCSAR volunteer. With inclement weather moving in and out of the area, TCSAR dispatched additional teams on snowmobiles in case the heli had to be grounded. Additionally, a USFS ranger dispatched on a snowmobile toward the accident.

The ship found a weather window and landed near the injured snowmobiler at approximately 3:20 p.m. Rescuers then loaded the patient into the helicopter for transport to a landing zone (LZ) and GTNP ambulance at the USFS Blackrock Ranger Station.

On busy days like this, it’s important to recognize and give thanks to the multiple partnering agencies across Teton County who help the team respond to rescues, as well as the families and partners of TCSAR volunteers who scramble to hold down the fort while their loved ones go into the field. We appreciate you.