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 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.

TCSAR Enters 2026 With New Team Leadership

For only the third time since its inception in 1993, Teton County Search & Rescue has a new Chief Advisor. On January 1, Anthony Stevens took over as Chief Advisor, replacing Cody Lockhart who stepped down after serving in the role for eight years. Previous to Lockhart, Tim Ciocarlan was chief for 24 years. The team’s original commander was Alan Merrell, who helped assemble the first team in 1993 with then Sheriff Roger Millward.

Cody Lockhart served as TCSAR’s Chief Advisor for eight years. Photo: Joey Sackett

Incoming Chief Advisor Anthony Stevens has been a TCSAR volunteer since 2015. Photo: David Bowers

The position of Chief Advisor is one of six advisors that provide team leadership for TCSAR. Each position is elected by the rest of the 43 volunteers currently serving. Collectively, the group of six is known as the Board of Advisors (BOA). The BOA is the first to be paged by Dispatch after an emergency call. The advisors then determine how the team responds to backcountry incidents. The BOA and volunteers serve under the jurisdiction of Teton County Sheriff Matt Carr.

The current Board of Advisors is as follows:

Chief Advisor: Anthony Stevens, volunteer since 2015. Stevens previously served as the team’s training advisor since 2017.

Membership Advisor: Robb Sgroi, volunteer since 2004.

Planning Advisor: Alex Norton, volunteer since 2007.

Logistics Advisor: KC Bess, volunteer since 2015.

Medical Advisor: Dr. Tobin Dennis, volunteer since 2021.

Training Advisor: Ian Johnston, volunteer since 2021.

As Lockhart exits his role as Chief Advisor, the team and Foundation offer its sincere gratitude for his unwavering commitment to serve the Jackson Hole community. 

Under his leadership, TCSAR continued to meet the moment, as he steered the volunteers to respond to ever higher call volumes with professionalism and compassion. 

Photo: David Bowers

During his tenure, in 2023, the team secured a year-round rescue helicopter, the first of its kind in the state of Wyoming and which has become a game-changer in mountain rescue across the region.. This past fall, he led TCSAR as the organization hosted the International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR), a conference that brought 600 alpine rescuers from more than 25 countries to Jackson for an entire week. Born and raised in a cattle-ranching family in Jackson, Lockhart believed in sharing the valley’s Western roots with ICAR’s international visitors. Part of making that happen was hosting a free rodeo during ICAR at the Teton County Fairgrounds, where more than 3,000 people showed up.

Beyond the headlines, Lockhart demonstrated a consistency that placed the team above the individual. Throughout his time as Chief Advisor, he led with humility, redirecting attention to the people beside him.

For 2026, Stevens steers a ship that will see 10 new volunteers become operational members, joining the other 33 members. As the founder of Wounded Bear Medicine and the team’s previous training advisor, Stevens brings vast knowledge of wilderness medicine and mountain rescue to the role. Stevens is a lifelong Jackson resident, and he and his wife have three children.