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 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.

Midnight Mission: TCSAR Rescues Stranded Snowmobilers on Togwotee Pass

At 7:53 p.m. on Sunday, February 2, Teton County Search & Rescue was paged regarding a group of snowmobilers who’d become stuck on the Togwotee Pass trail network.

The group sent out an emergency text-to-911 via satellite along with their coordinates to the Teton County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center. Dispatch contacted TCSAR and indicated that the party of four were in the vicinity of the K and V trails. The group consisted of two men and two teenage boys visiting from Minnesota. To communicate, the group had an iPhone with satellite messaging capability as well as a satellite-specific communication device.

During the February 2 callout, TCSAR volunteers encountered drifting snow on Togwotee Pass. Photo: TCSAR

With high winds and drifting snow limiting visibility, TCSAR volunteers responded with teams on snowmobiles. Just past midnight, a group of six volunteers located the missing party about eight miles from the trailhead. They were cold but otherwise unharmed. The trail they were on had essentially disappeared under snow drifts. 

The volunteers helped dig out two of the stuck snowmobiles. The two men in the missing party were able to ride their sleds out of the backcountry while the two boys were transported via snowmobile by TCSAR volunteers. All returned back to Togwotee Mountain Lodge. 

Six volunteers responded on snowmobiles to rescue a party of four missing snowmobilers on Togwotee Pass on February 2, 2025. Photo: TCSAR

The volunteers then returned to the TCSAR hangar in Jackson just before 3 a.m. and prepped the equipment for the next callout.

Regarding the use of satellite texting, this incident showed how the SAR team was able to use the technology in an emergency. As the incident unfolded, one of the men was using his iPhone to text his wife via satellite. She connected with TCSAR, who asked her to tell her husband to initiate a text to TCSAR incident command. He did so, which enabled back-and-forth text communication between his party and incident command at TCSAR.