TCSAR Responds to Two Calls on Granite Creek Road

On Friday, January 23, Teton County Search & Rescue responded to two separate snowmobile accidents on the Granite Creek Road, about 20 miles southeast of Jackson as the heli flies.

The first call came in at 3:58 p.m., regarding a 39-year-old male who had crashed his snowmobile and rolled about 30 feet down the embankment, resulting in a severe leg injury.

On January 23, 2026, TCSAR responded to two separate snowmobile accidents in the same area. Photo: TCSAR

Due to the severity of the injury, TCSAR dispatched a team of three volunteers and pilot in the helicopter. Another team was dispatched to the trailhead in the RZR side-by-side.

While the ship was on scene rigging for short-haul, the team received another call—this time from a guided snowmobile party reporting that one of their guests had hit a tree. The patient, a 32-year-old female, was reported to have lost consciousness with life-threatening injuries.

Meanwhile, two ambulances from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS and another TCSAR vehicle dispatched to the trailhead.

The heli team paused the short-haul operation to transport one volunteer to the scene of the second patient. The helicopter then flew to the trailhead to pick up two additional TCSAR volunteers, who were flown to the scene of the second patient.

The helicopter then flew back to the first patient, where TCSAR volunteers short-hauled that patient to an ambulance at the trailhead.

For the second patient, TCSAR drove a RZR side-by-side up the road to continue treatment and transport the patient and rescuers out of the backcountry and to a waiting ambulance.

TCSAR Rescues Injured Snowmobiler Deep in Togwotee Backcountry

At 11:40 a.m. on Friday, January 2, Teton County Dispatch received a Garmin SOS activation from the Togwotee Pass area. The emergency concerned a 42-year-old snowmobiler who had sustained a significant leg injury after crashing on his machine.

Teton County Search & Rescue mobilized a response that included teams in the helicopter and on snowmobiles. The helicopter team, consisting of the pilot and four SAR volunteers, was able to locate the party and land near the patient. Volunteers assessed his condition and packaged him for internal transport. Three volunteers stayed behind in the field while the pilot and one SAR member flew the patient to a waiting ambulance from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS near Togwotee Mountain Lodge.

Due to weather, the helicopter was unable to return to pick up the members in the field. Instead, TCSAR’s snowmobile team motored out to their teammates and brought them out of the backcountry, a 22-mile roundtrip. Then, they all drove back to SAR HQ in Jackson.

All teams were out of the field by 6 p.m., completing the mission in 6 hours and 20 minutes.

Mira Ahora: Videos from Spanish-language Avalanche Awareness Night

On January 28, 2025, a consortium of concerned residents in Jackson came together to present the valley’s first Spanish-language Avalanche Awareness Night at the Virginian Lodge. The event was recorded, with each presentation now available to watch via the TCSAR YouTube channel.

The goal of the event was to increase access to essential safety information for community members for whom Spanish is their preferred language. Based on local school demographics, an estimated 40 percent of county residents have a home language other than English, and the majority of those are Spanish-speakers.

With the outdoors such an important part of the Jackson Hole culture, it’s important that backcountry safety information is accessible to all.

"Language access is one of the important first steps in ensuring that everyone in our community has the tools and knowledge they need to make informed decisions in the backcountry,” said Piper Worthington, a language access advocate and event co-coordinator. “This event will be educational, but also a celebration of local people and organizations who have changed the ways we think about who is represented in the outdoor industry."

Below, TCSAR volunteer Ryan Mertaugh discusses how to mitigate your risk while traveling in avalanche terrain. This is just one of several presentations done entirely in Spanish.

Thanks to all of the presenters, the Virginian Lodge, Camino Conmingo, Coombs Outdoors, Exum, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center, and TCSAR for making this event possible. All videos were recorded and edited by Garrett LeRoy.