TCSAR Responds to Two Callouts Over the Weekend, including One that Ends in Fatality

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue responded to a pair of accidents this weekend, including one that tragically ended as a fatality on Togwotee Pass on Sunday, March 12.

The first call came at 1 p.m. on Saturday from a husband and wife floating in a raft on the Snake River. That morning, the couple from Twin Falls, Idaho, had rented a raft and launched at the Wilson Bridge with the goal of floating to the South Park Landing 13 miles downriver. A few miles into their voyage, they realized they would not be able to navigate the river, which typically splits into different channels about a mile downriver of the put-in. Deep snow also made it hard for them to walk on the banks. On March 11, the Snake was flowing about 800 cfs, which is close to the 27-year median flow for this time of year, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

TCSAR helps some floaters out of a jam on the Snake River on Saturday, March 11. Photo: TCSAR

Recognizing they’d gone as far as they could safely go, the couple parked their raft along the side of the river next to the levee and called for help. TCSAR volunteers responded by driving snowmobiles down the levee to the waiting couple. The volunteers lifted the raft out of the water and towed it behind a snowmobile back to a private road where the couple could pick it up later. The couple were given a lift on snowmobiles back to the Wilson Bridge.

This incident is a good example of why it’s important to call Search & Rescue before a situation escalates into a more challenging or dangerous scenario—not just for yourself but first responders as well. TCSAR was happy to help out this couple and bring this incident to a safe conclusion.

At 2:45 p.m. on Sunday, TCSAR received a call about a snowmobiler who had been trapped under his machine in deep snow. A 42-year-old man from Casper was riding with a partner when the two lost sight of each other on Togwotee Pass. They had been riding near the X Trail, which is a spur of the larger CD Trail near the top of the pass. The partner eventually found the man from Casper pinned under his sled in the snow. The partner was able to send out an SOS alert on a satellite device, which mobilized first responders. 

TCSAR responds to a snowmobile accident that had a tragic outcome on Togwotee Pass on March 12. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR responded via snowmobiles and the helicopter. Multiple partner agencies also responded to the effort, including Teton County Sheriff Deputies and Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. Once on scene, it was determined that the patient was deceased and that the cause of the accident was not avalanche-related.

TCSAR extends its sincere condolences to the man’s family and friends, and wishes to thank the cooperating agencies for the response.

TCSAR Short-Hauls Injured Skier from Mosquito Creek

Just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7, Teton County Search & Rescue was notified of an injured skier deep in the Mosquito Creek area.

TCSAR responds to an injured skier in the Mosquito Creek area. Photo: TCSAR

The skier, a 16-year-old local male, needed rescuing after he aired over a natural cliff feature and upon landing, struck an object beneath the snow. The skier and a partner had used snowmobiles to access the area that morning and were about 7 miles from the trailhead.

At the time of the accident, TCSAR volunteers were already in the rescue helicopter getting ready for a training operation with Grand Targhee Ski Patrol and avalanche dogs. Just as the ship touched down at Grand Targhee, the team got the call. They lifted up and flew to the site in Mosquito Creek.

The skier had reportedly aired over a steep cliffy zone and struck an object in the snow when he landed. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR decided the best way to extract the patient was via short-haul, which lifts a patient harnessed to the end of a rope below the helicopter for a short flight out of the backcountry. Once on scene, the volunteers assessed the skier’s injuries, packaged him for short-haul, and flew him to a landing zone and waiting ambulance near Fall Creek Road.

TCSAR volunteers conduct a successful short-haul for an injured skier in Mosquito Creek. Photo: TCSAR

From the time of the initial 911 call, TCSAR was able to get this skier out of the backcountry to definitive medical care in 1 hour, 11 minutes. This was due to the speed of the helicopter and good flying weather, of course, but also the extensive training the volunteers do all year long in order to quickly and efficiently perform complex missions.

TCSAR Provides Helicopter Assist for Cornice Fall Avalanche in Salt River Mountains

On Sunday afternoon, March 5, Teton County Search & Rescue deployed the helicopter and a team of volunteers to help rescue a snowmobiler who’d become injured and partially buried after a cornice fall triggered an avalanche in the Salt River Range outside of Afton, Wyo.

The cornice fall and patient location in the Swift Creek area of the Salt River Mountains. Photo: TCSAR

The accident happened after the snowmobiler, a local man from Thayne, had accessed a steep ridge line up Dry Creek with some friends. The man was about 20 feet from the edge of the cornice on his snowmobile when it broke beneath him, sending him down into another drainage known as Swift Creek. During the approximate 1,200-foot fall and avalanche over multiple cliffs he managed to deploy his avalanche airbag. He ended up buried up to his shoulders, with his head out of the snow, at the bottom of numerous cliff bands. The man’s snowmobile was nearby, also partially buried. 

The man was equipped with a hand-held BCA radio and was able to communicate with his partners still on the ridge. Due to the steep and unforgiving terrain, the group was not able to find a way down the ridge to get to him. The group called 911, which alerted Star Valley Search & Rescue in nearby Afton. 

Star Valley SAR deployed a team of volunteers up Dry Creek but immediately recognized that Swift Creek would be very difficult to access. The combination of elevated avalanche danger, time of day, and remote location would make accessing the patient before nightfall extremely difficult, if not impossible, without air resources. 

Snowmobile wreckage sticks out of the snow after a rider fell through a cornice 1,200 feet up the mountainside. Photo: TCSAR

According to Clint Erickson, Captain of Star Valley SAR, the team first called an air ambulance in Rock Springs, but that organization informed rescuers they would not be able to dig the man out of the snow for an effective operation. Erickson then called Teton County Search & Rescue, which accepted the mission at 3:43 p.m.

The TCSAR helicopter departed the Jackson hangar with a pilot and four volunteers just past 4 p.m. As the team approached, they were able to see the man’s orange air bag on the snow. The helicopter landed near the man and was able to dig him out of the snow. The volunteers packaged the man in a full body vacuum splint, and carried him about 30 feet to the ship. They loaded the patient internally and transported him to a landing zone and waiting ambulance at the Osmond Elementary School parking lot in Afton at 5:30 p.m. 

TCSAR volunteers get ready to transport a patient to a landing zone in Afton, Wyoming. Photo: TCSAR

“We’re extraordinarily grateful for TCSAR jumping on this call and completing it with a favorable result,” said Erickson. “Without the helicopter resource, this incident would have had a much different outcome.”

During the operation, additional TCSAR volunteers drove the fuel truck down to Alpine to ensure a safe flight home for the air crew. The weather cooperated, and the heli was able to fly all the way back to Jackson without ground assistance. All volunteers returned safely.

A couple of things made this rescue successful. The patient helped himself by being equipped with an avalanche air bag and being able to communicate via radio with his partners. TCSAR is happy to be able to share the helicopter resource with surrounding communities in matters of life or death. TCSAR also appreciates the partnership with Star Valley SAR to help bring this mission to a successful close.