Latest Rescue Has TCSAR Helping Mountain Biker in Black Canyon

Jackson, Wyo. — At 11:35 a.m. on Wednesday, June 25, Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert regarding an injured mountain biker in Black Canyon. The biker, a local 27-year-old woman, was descending the trail when she clipped a tree and went over the handlebars. The crash caused injuries that prevented her from riding or walking out on her own.

TCSAR volunteers transport an injured mountain biker down the Black Canyon trail on June 25, 2025. Photo: TCSAR

Without cell service in the canyon, the woman’s companion pedaled back up the trail until she could make an emergency call, and then returned to the scene. A TCSAR volunteer who lives near Wilson responded directly and ran up the trail from the Old Pass Road trailhead. This volunteer was followed by other volunteers on foot and on bikes.

Once on scene, the volunteers assessed the woman’s condition and packaged her for transport in the wheeled litter. The team transported the patient in the litter for about three miles down to the Old Pass Road, where a family member drove her to higher medical care.

As a friendly reminder, here are some options to help backcountry users contact 911 when there is little to no cellular service:

• BackcountrySOS is a free app that allows you to connect to dispatch with minimal cell service. A great option for those who live in the region.

• New Apple iPhones have satellite text-to-911 capability, as long as you have a clear view of the sky and horizon.

• Satellite communication devices, such as the Garmin inReach, can connect you to emergency services as well, and require a subscription.

It's Wheeled Litter Season in the Tetons: TCSAR Responds to Injured Trail Users

On Sunday, June 22, a 35-year-old local male was trail running by himself in Phillips Canyon when he went down with a knee injury. At 2:10 p.m., he placed a call to 911 after determining that he was unable to walk and would need help getting out of the backcountry. 

TCSAR volunteers transport an injured trail runner down Phillips Canyon on Sunday, June 22. Photo: TCSAR

Teton County Search & Rescue responded with a team of volunteers on foot. The volunteers accessed the canyon from the trailhead on Fish Creek Road, and found the patient 2 miles up the trail.

The team assessed his injuries, and packaged him for transport in the wheeled litter. The volunteers then brought him down the trail to a waiting ambulance, completing the mission in 2 hours, 50 minutes.

The rescue on June 22 was the third time in just more than a week that TCSAR has used the wheeled litter to bring injured trail users out of the Teton backcountry. Photo: TCSAR

This was TCSAR’s third wheeled litter rescue in about a week. On June 14, volunteers placed an injured female hiker in the wheeled litter for a 1.3-mile transport out of Teton Canyon. Then on June 19, the team had the wheeled litter in action again about 1.2 miles up Spring Creek, south of Alta, to help an injured dirt biker get out of the backcountry.

Warm Weather Sparks Summer Rescue Season for TCSAR

After the busiest May ever for Teton County Search & Rescue, June continues to keep the volunteers on their toes. Since June 1, the team has been called five times, with an additional two calls from Grand Teton National Park for emergency helicopter assistance.

TCSAR ramps up for a busy summer rescue season during a training session in May 2025. Photo: TCSAR

The increase in callouts correlates with the number of people getting out into the backcountry. With warm, relatively dry weather drawing people outdoors, TCSAR encourages everyone to remember to be prepared, practiced, and present in the backcountry, no matter your chosen activity.

“It’s been a particularly beautiful spring and early summer,” said TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart. “People started getting out and about on the river, on the trails, and on their bikes, a bit earlier than normal this year. Not surprisingly, rescues followed suit.”

The most recent calls for TCSAR included a hiker experiencing a medical issue on Sheep Mountain on the evening of June 9. A helicopter team from TCSAR departed Jackson and was able to land near the hikers. The volunteers then treated the patient in the field and flew her back to Jackson for higher medical care.

Then, around 10 p.m. on June 9, TCSAR was alerted to a 19-year-old male who hadn’t returned from a hike up Moose Creek. Two volunteers met at the trailhead and began hiking up the drainage around 11:30 p.m. They found a large moose, but no hiker. They continued to search through the night and eventually called it off at 4 a.m. The team began looking again at 5:30 a.m. The hiker eventually alerted his family that he had made it back to the trailhead at 6:30 a.m.

TCSAR volunteers train for all kinds of rescues. Photo: TCSAR

On the evening of June 11, numerous people called in to report that a speed flyer (a low-flying type of paraglider) had crashed on Snow King Mountain. About 20 personnel from TCSAR and the Sheriff’s Office searched the area for a possibly injured patient. At about 10 p.m., the search was called off after nobody was found.

After a mostly quiet spring, the month of May included 14 calls for service, the most ever for that time of year for TCSAR. The calls included two swiftwater alerts on the Snake River near Astoria; a crashed speed flyer; a stranded motorist near Cave Falls; three calls for missing or overdue children; an injured horseback rider; two injured mountain bikers at the same location on Teton Pass; and overdue bear hunters in the Gros Ventre Mountains.

Lockhart pointed out how this wide diversity of backcountry activities means that the volunteers must also have the relative skills to respond.

“It shows the breadth of recreational activities that people are doing, and the skills that the team needs to have to sort out those problems,” he said.

If you’re heading out, please have a plan, let someone know where you are going, know your limitations, and bring the appropriate gear for your chosen activity.

Anyone who has a backcountry emergency is encouraged to call 911 as soon as possible.