TCSAR Releases 2026 Midyear Rescue Report

Jackson, Wyo. — This past winter, Teton County Search & Rescue responded to fewer backcountry emergencies than the previous three winters, but also confronted several challenging rescue scenarios that demonstrated the volunteers’ commitment to training, professionalism and teamwork.

TCSAR volunteers conduct a short-haul training session. Photo by Dirk Collins

These details and more are included in TCSAR’s recently released 2026 Midyear Review & Rescue Report, a 32-page booklet published twice each year documenting the team’s rescues, backcountry safety programming, and community outreach.

From December 1, 2025, to May 31, 2026, TCSAR received 45 calls for service. Over the same time period last year the team had 62 calls. Snowmobilers made the most rescue calls this winter with 19. Four of these snowmobile accidents tragically ended with fatalities.

Conversely, there were relatively few ski– and snowboard-related rescues. Three calls came from the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry, zero from the Grand Targhee backcountry, and eight on Teton Pass, which included one fatality. Local rescuers received zero ski-related calls for the entire winter in Grand Teton National Park. The one call that came from the park was for an injured climber on the Middle Teton, a rescue handled by the Jenny Lake Rangers with an assist from the TCSAR’s aviation team.

“These past six months have been a busy and productive time for our team,” Anthony Stevens, TCSAR Chief Advisor and volunteer since 2015, writes in the report’s opening letter. “We have continued to strengthen our operational readiness through training, collaboration, and experience in the field. Whether responding to emergencies, supporting partner agencies, or assisting members of our community during difficult moments, our personnel have consistently demonstrated the values that define this organization: commitment, teamwork, and service above self.”

The report also announces a new logo for Backcountry Zero, the preventative search and rescue programming from the TCSAR Foundation. Backcountry Zero was launched in 2015 to help the local community prioritize backcountry safety and preparedness. The new logo makes it more recognizable as a key initiative of TCSAR. Through accessible and effective education and outreach, the Backcountry Zero program strives to create a positive shift in backcountry culture while reducing SAR-related incidents.

Rescue Reports can be picked up at participating businesses all over Jackson Hole, and downloaded for free at TetonCountySAR.org/rescue-reports.

Media Contact: Matt Hansen, TCSAR Foundation Communications Director: matt@tetoncountysar.org, (970) 846-7766

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.

TCSAR's 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report Available Now

Teton County Search & Rescue had one of its most eventful years ever in 2024. That’s according to the newly released 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report, which is published twice a year by Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation. The End-of-Year Rescue Report is notable because it documents the past six months of rescues, as well as a year’s worth of data about rescue demographics.

Cover image by Joey Sackett.

The 32-page report shows that with 130 calls for service between Dec. 1, 2023 and Nov. 30, 2024, TCSAR had its second highest call volume in the team’s 31-year history. Many of these calls were due to the arrival, in October 2023, of TCSAR’s new helicopter, which was called 31 times to conduct missions with the Jenny Lake Rangers in Grand Teton National Park. 

In 2024, some of the most common locations for rescues included: Togwotee Pass; Caribou-Targhee National Forest on the west side of the Tetons; the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry; and the Gros Ventre Mountains. Those ages 16-30 issued the most rescue calls, with 38 percent, while local and regional backcountry users accounted for 43 percent of all calls.

In 2024, TCSAR’s helicopter was used more than 60 times. Photo: TCSAR

The report shows that the TCSAR’s 38 volunteers dedicated a collective 10,827 hours back to the community in the form of rescues, training, and community events.

TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart explains that the volunteers accomplish what they do thanks to an unwavering commitment to teamwork.

“Within our Team, there is a culture of finding where you can be the most helpful and then proudly filling that role,” Lockhart writes in the report’s Intro Letter. “It is not about being a hero or an all-star—it is about being the best teammate possible. It is not about getting credit for the job—it is about making sure the job gets done.”

Other key takeaways from the report include:

• The TCSAR helicopter program, in its first year of operation, completed more than 60 missions, demonstrating how invaluable this tool has become during a time when backcountry recreation shows no signs of slowing down.

• The report includes 21 rescue summaries from the summer in Grand Teton National Park, during which Jenny Lake Rangers executed rescue missions with TCSAR’s helicopter and pilot. These summaries are intended to help educate the public about the partnership between the Jenny Lake Rangers and TCSAR, and how the county’s heli resource is being used.

• TCSAR will take on a new class of volunteers in 2025.

• A strategic plan outlining the goals and initiatives for TCSAR and the Foundation, including hosting the International Commission for Alpine Rescue in October 2025, and prioritizing programming from the Foundation’s education and outreach efforts through Backcountry Zero.

Rescue Reports are free and can be found at a number of participating businesses in Jackson Hole. If you’d like to be on our mailing list, please send an email to info@tetoncountysar.org. Digital versions are available for download at the TCSAR website.