The Wyoming Way: Solving Wilderness Rescues with Pack Animals

Just 10 days left to support TCSAR volunteers during the most important fundraiser of the year to keep Jackson Hole's backcountry safe

A defining characteristic of Jackson Hole is its immense backcountry providing stunning scenery and unique wilderness experiences. Given the rugged landscape, it's no wonder that pack animals play an integral role in the local culture, economy and recreation.

These animals are also part of Teton County Search and Rescue's response for backcountry accidents. At times, there's no substitute for using a horse or mule to haul equipment and people across several miles of unforgiving terrain.

"Some of these problems you can't physically solve without animals," says TCSAR chief advisor Cody Lockhart.

One of these animals is Sara, a 22-year-old mule belonging to TCSAR team member Scott Shervin, a Jackson native who’s been on the team since 2015. Shervin has used Sara seven times on backcountry rescue operations. She and a companion mule can carry gear and people, or Shervin can ride her and have a keen vantage point from which to search for a lost person.

Scott Shervin has been a TCSAR team member since 2015. His mule, Sara, has helped the team with seven rescues. Photo: Morris Weintraub

During the year, animals such as Sara come into play when weather, terrain, and distance prevent the team from flying a helicopter or using other motorized means to access an injured party. Maybe a hunter gets injured deep in the wilderness during a snowstorm, turning pack animals into key members during a response. Or they might get the call for an incident at the Darby Wind Caves. These caves are 2,000 vertical feet up the trail on the west side of the Tetons, and team members need hundreds of pounds of gear to safely respond to an injured person inside the dark, cold, wet, rocky confines.

Shervin prefers mules over horses for a few reasons. "Mules are smarter, they're more sure-footed, and they definitely won't hurt themselves, so in that case they won't hurt you," he says. "But they are a little stubborn and they don't run like a horse. But they're very smooth. These mules are gaited, so they're like a Cadillac. I ride my mules and pack my horses. Usually, it's the other way around."

Tim Ciocarlan, who has been part of the team’s since it was founded in 1993, remembers an early call-out to help an injured person out of Yellowstone's remote Thoroughfare. Using horses and mules, the team fashioned a travois to drag and carry the patient for several miles.

Dogs also make up the animal roster, though TCSAR does not have its own team of dog handlers. When called for, the team has access to dogs through Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee ski areas, or regional K9 units. TCSAR's last team member to handle a fully certified SAR dog was Ray Shriver. Shriver, who was also part of TCSAR's founding 1993 class, tragically died in a helicopter crash during a rescue mission on Togwotee in February 2012. Shriver and his beloved German shepherd, Paco, were inseparable.

Saddled up and ready to go to work. Photo: TCSAR Foundation

Ultimately, the animals are part of a team effort to solve challenges in the backcountry to bring people home safely. With pack animals being a throwback and reminder of our Western heritage, they continue to play an important role for TCSAR's wilderness response.

You can help that effort by making a donation today to the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation through Old Bill's. Each contribution goes directly to helping TCSAR volunteers be outfitted and trained to handle all kinds of rescues. 

As for Sara, she's a very sweet mule who likes to go to work. "She's really gentle," says Shervin. "You can get some mean mules that’ll kick. But this one doesn't have a mean bone in her body. You can do anything with her."

Thank you for your generous support.

A Rescuer’s First Instinct: “How can I help in this situation?”

It's Week 5 of Old Bill's Giving Season—the best time of the year to support TCSAR volunteers to help keep the backcountry safe

Who among us doesn’t feel the weight of remorse or flash of panic when word spreads that someone has been caught in an avalanche in the Tetons?

Do I know this person? Is it one of my friends? Didn’t so-and-so say they were going skiing up there today?

As you send out text messages and check social media and local news in search of answers, TCSAR volunteers are mobilizing to jump into the fray to respond—no matter what. It happens, from time to time, that they know the person involved. They have even been called to help fellow SAR members. But the perspective the volunteers keep on every rescue is that even if they don’t know the person, they recognize that he or she has family and friends, and that they need to do whatever it takes to get that person home.

During the pandemic, TCSAR volunteers must take extra precautions during a response, like wearing personal protective equipment and masks. Team members Ryan Combs and Jenn Sparks. Photo: Morris Weintraub

In 2009, Ryan Combs lost a friend in an avalanche. The friend wasn’t doing anything crazy; he’d been wearing a beacon and was just out enjoying a powder day. Combs remembers thinking that such an incident could easily have happened to himself, and it was one of the motivating factors that prompted him to join Teton County Search and Rescue in 2010. The notion that mountains can render the highest joys and yet cause the worst heartbreaks has never left him.

"The majority of the time the team receives a call-out, it's most often somebody I don’t know," he says. "But the universal grounding we share is we identify with somebody who’s in pain. It doesn't matter who it is, you can relate to them. That is something we all as human beings find common ground with. When you see someone not doing well, my instinct is, 'How can I help in this situation?'"

Over the last 10 years, 58 percent of all call-outs during winter in Jackson Hole are for backcountry skiers and snowboarders. This figure does not include all of the close calls, near misses, or self/companion rescues. So it is paramount that TCSAR have strong skiers and snowboarders among their ranks, though they are quick to point out that the best trait of all is being a good teammate.

Data from the 2020 Midseason Rescue Report shows how often TCSAR volunteers respond to backcountry skiing/snowboarding incidents.

In addition to being a good teammate, volunteer Jenn Sparks says skiers on the squad should also have "patience, lots of down coats, and hand-warmers."

 "The cold and approaching darkness add other elements to not only teammates, but the patient as well," she says. "Knowing it takes on average of an hour to get to an injured person on skis is stressful, and now we are dealing with potential hypothermia."

With many observers believing that the backcountry this winter will be busier than ever due to the pandemic, it will be critically important to have a strong and healthy TCSAR team. You can help make that happen by donating to the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation at Old Bill's today.

Thank you for having a mind for backcountry safety, and supporting our volunteers.

TCSAR's Wheeled Litter Keeps Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

During Old Bill's Giving Season, your support for TCSAR volunteers helps keep the backcountry safe

On May 29, Sara Kirkpatrick, a local teacher and mom, was hiking Josie's Ridge and carrying her 15-month-old boy. Like many of us, getting out on the trails is part of her lifestyle, especially as a way to cope with the stresses and uncertainty of the pandemic.
 

About halfway down the steep trail, she stumbled and broke her ankle. Her first reaction was to protect her child—he was fine. Unable to walk, she called 911, which sent Teton County Search and Rescue into gear. TCSAR volunteer Jon Wiedie was already mountain biking in the area, while team members Jenn Sparks and Alex Norton, who live nearby, began climbing the hill. Reinforcements arrived with other team members carrying the wheeled litter, one of the most innovative ways to carry an injured person over rugged terrain. 

It's used often in the summertime for hikers, bikers and people on horseback who become injured, including just last night on a rescue in Pacific Creek for a man who'd fallen from his horse.

With Josie's being popular and close to town, Kirkpatrick never thought she’d need a rescue there. Her husband soon arrived to care for their baby while the volunteers, who were wearing masks and other PPE, packaged her into the wheeled litter.

"It was scary because it’s steep and you have to let go," she said. "But you have to say, 'These two people have control of me right now.' What was kind of amazing is that Alex is my neighbor, and Sparks is a friend, so it was the community that I knew. I felt so supported."

TCSAR volunteers Galen Parke (back left) and Chase Lockhart grin and bear it during a recent photo shoot for Old Bill’s at the team’s hangar. Photo: Morris Weintraub

TCSAR got its first wheeled litter a few years after the team’s inception in 1993. That litter had been designed by Jenny Lake climbing rangers. It was big and bulky, had a mountain bike tire, and weighed about 40 pounds. The team's current design came onboard about five years ago. Working with Cascade Rescue, a Sandpoint, Idaho-based company that designs SAR equipment, TCSAR volunteers devised a lightweight system for mountain travel. The model, called the Terra Tamer, weighs just over 15 pounds. It includes a titanium frame and fork system, a 4.25-inch fatty bike tire that rolls and bounces over rocks and roots, and disc brakes. The system can be transported in pieces, giving volunteers the option of carrying it to the patient and assembling it on scene.

On the move near the Ferrin’s trail summit. Photo: TCSAR

Each summer, there are numerous instances when the wheeled litter comes into play. Now, it's often paired with the team's RZR, a side-by-side utility terrain vehicle that TCSAR refurbished to accommodate the litter. There have been some epics over the years, however, with the team transporting patients in the wheeled litter for several miles over extremely rugged terrain. 

You've also probably seen the team running the wheeled litter during the Old Bill's Fun Run. Though the run part of the event isn't happening this year, don't be surprised to see the team showcasing the wheeled litter in their own way—that is, running it hard and fast—to celebrate the spirit of the event.

The team uses the wheeled litter to carry a man to safety on a recent mission. Photo: TCSAR

Right now, you can let the volunteers know how much you appreciate their selfless dedication to helping locals and visitors in the backcountry by donating to Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation through Old Bill's. They are strong, dedicated and, yes, kind in their approach to keeping the backcountry safe. But they can't do it without your help.

Thank you for rolling with us and supporting TCSAR.