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.

GTNP and TCSAR Partner for Avalanche Rescue in the Tetons

MOOSE, Wyo.— On Sunday afternoon, February 4, Grand Teton National Park rangers requested helicopter assistance from Teton County Search & Rescue (TCSAR) to respond to an injured skier on Prospectors Mountain inside the park. The skier, a 29-year-old local woman, along with four men were near the top of the Banana Couloir at 10,800 feet when they triggered and were caught by an avalanche. Three in the group were able to self-arrest, while one of the men was carried 500 feet and the woman was carried by the snow slide approximately 1,500 vertical feet. Neither skier was fully buried, however, the woman sustained serious injuries.

The upper reaches of the Banana Couloir in GTNP. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR prepared the helicopter with three rescue volunteers and a pilot. The crew flew up into the Banana, a prominent couloir on the east face of Prospectors Mountain. The volunteers were able to short-haul the injured skier off the mountain and fly her to a waiting National Park Service ambulance at Windy Point Turnout. The rest of the party were able to ski out on their own. 

An avalanche on February 4, 2024, caught and carried five skiers, one of whom was swept 1,500 vertical feet down the mountain. Photo: TCSAR

Short-haul is a rescue method where a patient and rescuer are secured to a fix rope that is connected to the belly of the helicopter for a short flight out of the backcountry. It is often used in steep terrain where landing the helicopter is not an option. 

With new snow falling on the Tetons, backcountry users are being reminded to read the daily avalanche forecast at the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center. TCSAR and Grand Teton were appreciative of the collaborative effort to bring this incident to a close.

The Fine Line podcast goes Straight to the Heart

Shortness of breath, fatigue, and feeling like you can’t take another step are as common in the mountains as blisters, mosquito bites, and chapped lips. 

But on March 29, 2023, skier Dave Brown felt a sudden onset of extreme fatigue that was entirely new to him, and terribly serious. At 67 years old, the former ski patroller had never had any previous medical issues. But during a backcountry ski tour up Mail Cabin on the west side of Teton Pass, he knew he needed to get help–and get it fast. In this episode of The Fine Line, we’ll hear how Brown and his ski partner made a critical decision that helped save his life. And Teton County Search & Rescue volunteer Keegan Pfeil explains how the team responded to the emergency in a deep timbered ravine where simply locating their patient was a challenge.

TCSAR volunteer Keegan Pfeil (left) with Dave Brown. Photo: Matt Hansen/TCSAR Foundation

The Fine Line is produced by Backcountry Zero and sponsored by Stio and Roadhouse Brewing Co.

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