Back-to-Back Heli Rescues for TCSAR on March 18

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue utilized its helicopter to perform back-to-back rescues on Saturday, March 18.

In the first, a witness called 911 at roughly 1:30 p.m. Saturday after watching a skier fall about 700 feet down Central Couloir on Cody Peak. Central is a highly visible and extremely steep, technical ski descent in the backcountry south of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. In order to access it, one must exit the resort gates, climb the ridge of Cody Peak before dropping into the couloir from the summit.

A skier carefully descends Central Couloir in the JHMR backcountry after his partner fell, requiring a TCSAR rescue. Photo: TCSAR

Ski patrollers and TCSAR volunteers help carry a patient to the rescue ship in Cody Bowl on March 18. Photo: TCSAR

The skier, a woman from Salt Lake City, lost her balance about halfway down the couloir. She tumbled down the couloir and over a cliff band at the bottom, sustaining multiple injuries. Her partner, a man from Victor, Idaho, was still up in the couloir.

JHMR ski patrol were first on scene while TCSAR mobilized a response with a team in the helicopter. The helicopter was able to land in Cody Bowl, where ski patrollers and SAR members helped load the patient inside the ship. Then, she was flown to a landing zone (LZ) and waiting ambulance at the base of Teton Village.

The woman’s partner was able to collect her skis still in the couloir. He pitched them over the cliff at the bottom before he jumped the mandatory exit cliffs to the field of snow below. He was able to ski out of the backcountry on his own power.

TCSAR is grateful for the partnership with JHMR Ski Patrol for the seamless response to help this skier get the help she needed.

The Teton Village landing zone and coordinated partnerships help TCSAR successfuly close rescue calls. Photo: TCSAR

Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, TCSAR was contacted by Bonneville County Idaho SAR for a helicopter assist of a missing snowmobiler in the Palisades area of the Snake River Mountains. A 50-year-old man had gone missing after riding his snowmobile up Pole Canyon, outside of Victor, Idaho, on Friday and had not been seen or heard from since. Teton County Idaho SAR was involved in the hours-long search on snowmobiles. Air Idaho, a private helicopter ambulance, joined the search from the air.

TCSAR’s heli team searched for more than two hours from the air. The team eventually spotted the man; he was alive but stuck in extreme terrain. The heli landed and volunteers were able to reach him and help him board the ship for a flight out of the backcountry. TCSAR’s heli team was able to get back to the hangar in Jackson at 7:15 p.m., about 20 minutes before sunset.

TCSAR appreciates the coordination from the different SAR teams and agencies involved to help find this missing snowmobiler and get him back to safety. These incidents underscore the importance of having a life-saving rescue helicopter available at a moment’s notice. TCSAR currently leases its ship for eight months per year. Given the increased rate of rescues, the team is presently trying to raise enough money to purchase a year-round SAR helicopter for Teton County. Learn more about this effort here.

The Sliver Couloir: The Fine Line Podcast Dissects Intergroup Communication in the Mountains

Like many big ski lines in Grand Teton National Park, the Sliver Couloir was infrequently skied only about 20 years ago. Now, it might see several people in a single day. Fueled by the potent combination of social media and digital mapping, the expense of resort skiing, and the ease of modern equipment, backcountry skiing has reached a fever pitch across the West and the Tetons. 

This increase in skiers means intergroup communication is yet another element people must plan for and accommodate as they head into unforgiving terrain.

Collin Binko ascends the Sliver Couloir in Grand Teton National Park on January 22, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Michael Martin

The consequences of not communicating became abundantly clear on January 22, 2022, when skiers Collin Binko and Michael Martin encountered a lone snowboarder at the base of the Sliver. All three had eyes on the same prize, but neither party talked to the other. The day ended with the snowboarder descending upon the two skiers, with Martin being overcome by sluffing snow and tumbling several hundred feet to the bottom. He luckily survived, but required a helicopter evac by Grand Teton National Park rangers and Teton County Search & Rescue.

The accident exposed the growing risk of skier-on-skier conflicts in the Tetons, and how critical it is for people to talk to one another in the backcountry, especially in high traffic, high consequence zones like the Sliver.

The next episode of The Fine Line podcast explores this issue head on, with Martin and Binko giving a first-hand account of what happened in the Sliver. We also hear from alpinist and licensed therapist Ryan Burke about coming onto the scene and the dangerous role ego plays in the mountains. Jessica Baker, an AMGA-certified ski guide who has more than two decades of experience in the Tetons, walks us through what communication looks and sounds like in the mountains, and why it’s so critical for everyone’s safety.

The episode airs first at 2 p.m. on Thursday, February 24, on KHOL 89.1 FM, before being available for download on your preferred podcast platform.

The Fine Line is produced by Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation as part of the Backcountry Zero project. The goal of this episode is to offer it up as a learning experience so that similar accidents can be avoided in the future. Thank you to Martin and Binko for sharing their important story, and to Baker and Burke for their valuable insight.

Thanks to Roadhouse Brewing for sponsoring The Fine Line.