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.

TCSAR Rescues Injured Snowmobiler Deep in Togwotee Backcountry

At 11:40 a.m. on Friday, January 2, Teton County Dispatch received a Garmin SOS activation from the Togwotee Pass area. The emergency concerned a 42-year-old snowmobiler who had sustained a significant leg injury after crashing on his machine.

Teton County Search & Rescue mobilized a response that included teams in the helicopter and on snowmobiles. The helicopter team, consisting of the pilot and four SAR volunteers, was able to locate the party and land near the patient. Volunteers assessed his condition and packaged him for internal transport. Three volunteers stayed behind in the field while the pilot and one SAR member flew the patient to a waiting ambulance from Jackson Hole Fire/EMS near Togwotee Mountain Lodge.

Due to weather, the helicopter was unable to return to pick up the members in the field. Instead, TCSAR’s snowmobile team motored out to their teammates and brought them out of the backcountry, a 22-mile roundtrip. Then, they all drove back to SAR HQ in Jackson.

All teams were out of the field by 6 p.m., completing the mission in 6 hours and 20 minutes.