TCSAR Picks Up Two Rescues On April 18-19

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue responded to two emergency calls over the weekend, showing again the range of skills our volunteers deploy during this seasonal transition.

At 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, a local male snowboarder suffered a severe leg injury while descending a line on the Great White Hump, located north of Teton Pass. It was the second time this month that a skier or snowboarder had been injured after getting caught in an avalanche in this same zone.

In response, TCSAR assembled a short-haul team in the helicopter. The team made contact with the patient about 54 minutes after the initial 911 call. Our team credits the patient’s group for providing interim care before the volunteers were on scene. That care included: Keeping the patient warm with extra clothes and a space blanket; securing the patient in a safe location; cutting out a flat platform to help the responding volunteers load/secure/treat/extract the patient during a heli operation.

TCSAR then short-hauled the patient to a waiting ambulance on Teton Pass, completing the mission in 2 hours, 36 minutes.

The Great White Hump has been the location of two short-haul rescues in April 2026, both involving avalanches. Photo: TCSAR

This incident is another reminder for skiers and snowboarders to be extra cautious during this transitional period in the Tetons, when snow conditions may change rapidly from hour to hour, day to day.

The second rescue call of the weekend came at 4:53 p.m. on Sunday, April 19. This incident concerned two hikers who had been attempting to walk from Cache Creek to the Game Creek Divide and then return via the Skyline trail.

After ascending the Game Creek Divide, the party called 911 to say they were too exhausted to continue. The hikers were advised to begin walking back to the Cache/Game junction where a team of volunteers would meet them.

Two TCSAR volunteers dispatched in a side-by-side vehicle up Cache. When they could not locate the party at the Cache/Game junction, the volunteers hiked about 1.5 miles up the trail, where they found the tired hikers. The volunteers gave them food and water and assisted them back down the trail to the vehicle. From there, the team transported them to their vehicle at the Cache Creek trailhead.

Boots (and Skis) on the Ground: TCSAR Rescues Injured Skier from Taylor Mountain

Jackson, Wyo. — At 12:29 p.m. on Friday, March 13, Teton County Search & Rescue received an emergency alert for an injured skier on the South Ridge of Taylor Mountain. The skier, a local 28-year-old female, sustained a knee injury while skinning up from the Coal Creek drainage. Unable to ski or hike out, her partners called 911.

TCSAR dispatched three teams to approach the scene on skis and placed a helicopter team on standby. One volunteer team, consisting of three members who live on the west side of the Tetons, reached the patient first. She was about 800 feet up the mountain and roughly a mile from the Coal Creek parking lot. The volunteers evaluated the patient’s condition and made a plan to get her out of the backcountry.

The other ski teams arrived shortly afterward, and all worked together to transport the patient by rope and toboggan to the Coal Creek parking area. The effort involved 25 volunteers and took 3 hours, 31 minutes to complete.

Volunteers encountered slick conditions in their response, which served as a timely reminder that skiers heading into the backcountry should expect to find unforgiving conditions. Ski crampons and other tools that help amplify traction on snow and ice should be strongly considered as our temperatures fluctuate between the seasons.

TCSAR Rescues Skiers from Teton Pass

Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers responded to two separate incidents on Monday and Tuesday, January 12 and 13, on Teton Pass. Both calls involved backcountry skiers suffering lower leg injuries that prevented them from exiting the backcountry on their own.

At 3:43 p.m. on Monday, January 12, TCSAR received an alert of an injured female skier in the area of the Do-It Chutes (pictured). The skier was located in a timbered chute several hundred feet above Hwy 22.

TCSAR responded with a short-haul team in the helicopter, and placed skiers on the ground as backup. The helicopter inserted two volunteers directly on scene, where they were able to package the patient for transport. The team then short-hauled the patient to a waiting ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS at the Coal Creek parking lot, completing the mission in 3 hours, 17 minutes.

At 10:28 a.m. on Tuesday, January 13, the volunteers were paged for an injured male skier in the Black Canyon area of Mount Elly. TCSAR responded with a helicopter team, while a ski team was positioned as backup on the top of Teton Pass. 

With the patient being about 400 feet below the summit of Elly, the helicopter landed in an open field of snow uphill from the scene. With the help of the man’s ski partners, TCSAR volunteers carried the patient up the hill to be placed inside the helicopter. The heli then transported him and the rescuers to the TCSAR HQ in Jackson. All team members were out of the field by noon, completing the mission in less than 2 hours.