Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue responded to two emergency calls over the weekend, showing again the range of skills our volunteers deploy during this seasonal transition.
At 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, a local male snowboarder suffered a severe leg injury while descending a line on the Great White Hump, located north of Teton Pass. It was the second time this month that a skier or snowboarder had been injured after getting caught in an avalanche in this same zone.
In response, TCSAR assembled a short-haul team in the helicopter. The team made contact with the patient about 54 minutes after the initial 911 call. Our team credits the patient’s group for providing interim care before the volunteers were on scene. That care included: Keeping the patient warm with extra clothes and a space blanket; securing the patient in a safe location; cutting out a flat platform to help the responding volunteers load/secure/treat/extract the patient during a heli operation.
TCSAR then short-hauled the patient to a waiting ambulance on Teton Pass, completing the mission in 2 hours, 36 minutes.
The Great White Hump has been the location of two short-haul rescues in April 2026, both involving avalanches. Photo: TCSAR
This incident is another reminder for skiers and snowboarders to be extra cautious during this transitional period in the Tetons, when snow conditions may change rapidly from hour to hour, day to day.
The second rescue call of the weekend came at 4:53 p.m. on Sunday, April 19. This incident concerned two hikers who had been attempting to walk from Cache Creek to the Game Creek Divide and then return via the Skyline trail.
After ascending the Game Creek Divide, the party called 911 to say they were too exhausted to continue. The hikers were advised to begin walking back to the Cache/Game junction where a team of volunteers would meet them.
Two TCSAR volunteers dispatched in a side-by-side vehicle up Cache. When they could not locate the party at the Cache/Game junction, the volunteers hiked about 1.5 miles up the trail, where they found the tired hikers. The volunteers gave them food and water and assisted them back down the trail to the vehicle. From there, the team transported them to their vehicle at the Cache Creek trailhead.
