TCSAR Responds To Tandem Snowmobile Crash on Togwotee Pass

At 1:13 p.m. on Monday, January 26, Teton County Search & Rescue received a page from dispatch regarding a snowmobile accident in the Togwotee Pass area. The page concerned two patients, a male and a female, who had been riding tandem on the L trail when they went off trail and collided with a tree. The two riders had been in a small guided group when the accident occurred.

From Togwotee Mountain Lodge, the L Trail parallels the highway for a few miles before turning north toward Turpin Meadows. Photo: TCSAR

The female patient was reported to be unresponsive and breathing. The male patient was reported to be responsive with significant injuries. Two Teton County Sheriff Deputies were already in the area and they responded via snowmobile from Togwotee Mountain Lodge. A third deputy established a landing zone in a pullout on the highway for aerial support. Deputies arrived on scene at 2 p.m.

TCSAR responded with a helicopter and ground teams. The team also requested support from two ambulances and a helicopter from Air Idaho. Around this time, the male patient went into cardiac arrest. We are saddened to report that this patient did not survive his injuries.

With deputies and TCSAR personnel on site, the team short-hauled the female patient to the LZ on the highway. The patient was transferred to Air Idaho, which transported her to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

All of us at TCSAR offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends affected by this tragedy. We want to take this time to also express our gratitude to the numerous volunteers, sheriff deputies, and partnering agencies that helped with this mission.

This has been a challenging winter so far for our mountain community. TCSAR has responded to four fatalities, with two coming in the last three days. We know that accidents happen and that we all make mistakes. This message is not intended to shame or judge anyone. Just please remember that when you take on a backcountry objective—no matter how big or small—the most important thing is to make sure you come home at the end of the day. Be safe out there, everyone.

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.