At 12:23 p.m. on Monday, August 24, Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert regarding an injured backpacker on the Green Mountain Trail on the west side of the Tetons.
The backpacker, a woman in her 70s, sustained injuries when she tripped and fell while descending about two miles from the trailhead at North Leigh Canyon.
TCSAR volunteers assist an injured backpacker on the Green Mountain Trail on Monday, August 24, 2026. Photo: Teton County Search & Rescue
TCSAR sent two teams in response. Three volunteers who live in Teton Valley gathered gear from TCSAR’s rescue cache in Alta and reported directly to the trailhead to approach the patient on foot. A second team of six volunteers from Jackson drove to the trailhead in a SAR vehicle and ascended the trail on foot while hauling more supplies along with a wheeled litter.
Photo: Teton County Search & Rescue
A wheeled litter is a portable rescue tool that allows rescuers to package a patient in a body-length rigid stretcher with elevated sides that sits on a single fat mountain bike tire. The system has disc brakes that help the volunteers guide the litter over rough terrain.
Photo: Teton County Search & Rescue
Once on scene, the volunteers assessed the patient’s injuries and packaged her for transport in the wheeled litter. They then transported her down the trail to a waiting ambulance from Teton County Idaho Fire & Rescue near the trailhead. Afterwards, the volunteers packed up, readied the gear for the next mission, and headed home.