On February 20, 2018, IFMGA-certified mountain guide Paul Rachele was trying to set up a winter climbing route on a sharp crag off Teton Pass called The Reef. As he was setting the final anchor on this uncommon, infrequently climbed cliffband, he ran out of rope and fell 100 feet, sustaining numerous severe injuries. Alone and unable to walk, his call for help set in motion a rapid response as rescuers raced against the clock to get him to safety before nightfall.

Mountain guide Paul Rachele (middle) with TCSAR members Phillip Fox (left) and Alex St. Clair at the KHOL radio studios in Jackson, Wyo. Photo: TCSAR Foundation

The accident is the focus on the latest episode of “The Fine Line,” the podcast produced by Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation and Backcountry Zero. For this episode, podcast host Rebecca Huntington sits down with Rachele and responding TCSAR members Phillip Fox and Alex St. Clair. Fox and St. Clair came into TCSAR in the same 2015 class. On this incident, Fox was on short-haul while St. Clair was lead medic on the ground.

During the podcast, Rachele is eloquent in his descriptions of winter climbing and in explaining why he is drawn to The Reef, even to this day despite his troubled history on this particular rock. Meanwhile, Fox and St. Clair articulate the ins and outs of a hasty rescue operation where everything had to be perfect—or else face a much more dire outcome.

This episode can be heard now at BackcountryZero.com, via Soundcloud or iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.