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On the eighth day of Christmas, TCSAR gave to me… perspective.
TCSAR volunteers always stress the importance of being prepared, practiced and present in the backcountry. But they also understand that sometimes, people will face plant—that everyone makes mistakes, no matter how skilled or experienced. Perspective is yet one more reason why the volunteers are able to respond with humility and compassion for those who need their help.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting TCSAR Foundation during Old Bill’s 2021. The Foundation received more donations for this event than it ever had before, and we couldn't be more grateful.
During Old Bill's this year, we highlighted six TCSAR volunteers who represent just a sample of the 44 individuals who make up this team. We hope their stories (see below) were able to provide a glimpse into why all TCSAR volunteers continue to show up and give back to our community. As of November 3, the team has been called a near record 95 times.
Giving to TCSAR Foundation truly empowers all TCSAR volunteers to make a difference in Jackson Hole, as it allows the Foundation to support them with the following:
Personal safety gear and equipment
Year-round training for complicated rescues
Meals to keep them going during those rigorous missions
Wellness programs for volunteers and their families
Your support also helps TCSAR outfit and train 10 new volunteers, the team’s first new class since 2015. Last but not least, your donation helps the Foundation continue to offer robust outdoor educational programs, which are more important than ever as people flock to our surrounding backcountry in record numbers.
Thank you so much for being with us on this journey, and for supporting our volunteers.
-Stephanie Thomas, TCSAR Foundation Executive Director
TCSAR volunteers featured during Old Bill’s 2021, clockwise from top left: Lizzie Watson, Galen Parke, Dr. AJ Wheeler, Don Watkins and family, Ed Fries, and Ethan Lobdell. Photos: Orijin Media
TCSAR volunteers hold down many different roles and responsibilities. On any given day, they'll go from taking their kids to soccer practice, to making sure a friend can get to the airport, to being a valuable employee, medical provider, or business owner, to helping a neighbor find last-minute dog care, to jumping on a rescue call at a moment's notice to help save someone's life in the middle of the wilderness.
It can be a tough balancing act, but they continue to volunteer because they believe in the spirit of giving back. You can show your support for these volunteers by making a donation to TCSAR Foundation through Old Bill's. Every little bit helps, and we are grateful for any level of support. Just click the button, or search for TCSAR Foundation at OldBills.org.
Each week during the Old Bill’s giving season—from August 13 to September 17—we’ll be spotlighting different TCSAR volunteers.
Over the last five weeks of Old Bill's Giving Season, we've highlighted a handful of our 40-plus TCSAR volunteers (scroll down to see the whole bunch) to give you an idea of why they continue to give back, despite their different backgrounds. In this final installment, we wanted to put the spotlight on the importance of family. Whether they live far away, sit next to you on the living room couch, or need a story at bed time, families are what sustain us.
Not only is this true for TCSAR volunteers' own families and partners, who provide so much vital support, but team members often say that one of the most rewarding parts of the mission is reuniting family members after an accident in the backcountry.
With just two days left before Old Bill's wraps up—make sure you donate before 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17!—we're featuring Don Watkins, a TCSAR team member since 2015. He also sits on the TCSAR Foundation Board of Directors as treasurer.
How has your perspective as a TCSAR volunteer changed since you’ve become a father?
The biggest shift for me is that I often find myself thinking about how the family and friends of the person being rescued are affected. Certain rescues, especially ones that involve kids or young adults, hit closer to home. As a team we’ve also begun to focus more on how we are taking care of family and friends during rescues.
Any advice for new dads on how to avoid stepping on Legos?
It's sort of like a rite of passage. Embrace it. Just like that first diaper blowout your child blesses you with, you’ll never forget stepping on a Lego.
The best call-out is from family. Don Watkins sends it with his daughter, Ramsay.
How are you able to balance having two small children, full time job, volunteering, being on the Foundation board, and still get time outdoors?
My wife, Shea, does 99.9 percent of the balancing for me. There’s also no way I could do it without support from my amazing co-workers and family and friends. If I wasn’t surrounded by such awesome people I hands down couldn’t make being a volunteer work.
Don Watkins and family in the Utah desert.
What's one the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your time as a TCSAR volunteer?
One of our mantras at TCSAR is 'slow is smooth, smooth is fast.' It’s easy to get spun up when a call-out comes in and all you want to do is rush out the door to get someone the help they need as fast as possible. Time is definitely a critical component to a successful rescue, but pausing for even a few seconds to check your gear or evaluate your action plan can make all the difference in the world.
What compels your devotion to backcountry safety?
When I moved to Jackson, in 2006 with some close friends, we worked hard to educate ourselves so we had the tools to make the right decisions in the backcountry. We took avy courses, dug pits and read the avalanche report before heading out. We did the same due diligence when hiking and biking in the summer. However, the more time I spent in the mountains the more I quickly realized I still had a lot to learn. I didn’t know what I didn’t know and I wanted to ride new peaks and explore new places. I began to learn that expanding my backcountry knowledge was the best way to make that happen. It also helps that most backcountry gear is pretty fun to practice with.
Don Watkins finds a smooth line in the Tetons. Photo: Patrick Nelson
The Jackson Hole People’s Market is a cool affair: good food, friendly faces, glorious summer evenings. For us, a frequent stop is at the booth with TCSAR volunteer Galen Parke, who sells maple syrup produced on his family’s farm in Vermont. To many market browsers, it’s probably unexpected that the syrup guy also carries his 24-hour rescue pack in his truck next to all those jars of pancake dressing.
Such readiness is ingrained in TCSAR culture, where 40-plus volunteers stand prepared to come running anytime anyone needs help in the Jackson Hole backcountry. So far in 2021, the team has received 81 calls for help. This puts our volunteers on track to have one of their busiest years ever. You can show your appreciation by making a donation to TCSAR Foundation during Old Bill’s. You have until 5 p.m. on Friday, September 17, to have your donation generously matched.
Galen Parke during a snowmobile training exercise. Photo: David Bowers
A TCSAR team member since 2010, Parke has occasionally had to leave the People's Market, which helps sustain his full time job as a syrup farmer, to go on a rescue. But his most common balancing act is when the market lands on the same day as the team’s monthly trainings. “My favorite move is jogging out of the market with a 24-hour pack on my back and riding the motorcycle or a bicycle to the hangar just in time to catch the meeting,” he says.
Parke is also the team’s Planning Advisor, which means he writes and organizes the different ‘rescue plans’ for swiftwater, avalanche, caving, ground response, etc. Each of these plans sets specific protocol for how a rescue should operate. He has also helped the team expand its use of technology. One project has been getting everyone onboard with SARtopo, an online mapping platform that allows Incident Command to track and see members in the field in real time. The result is a much faster response time while giving team members an extra layer of safety.
Like farming, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes. But what’s good for the crop is good for the community.
Back home on the maple farm.
How does someone in Jackson become a maple syrup farmer?
I was born on a dairy farm in an economically depressed corner of Vermont; making maple syrup is just one way to help a farm in that area make some money. In 2013, my father was taking on a bigger sugaring operation, and I went home to help him get it up and running, and gambled on hauling a bunch of syrup to Jackson after a few friends had requested I bring some back. The goal was and is to be able to still have a connection to the farm while living in Jackson.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned on TCSAR?
Wear bright colors! I used to scoff at "Skittles" outdoor gear until my first search. Now, I am happy to wear flashy colors.
In your view, what is the value of Teton County Search & Rescue?
We make someone's bad day a little bit better, even if it's the reporting party, like a worried parent or spouse. The service we provide can be as simple as helping someone who rolled an ankle a mile from the trail. Or if we’re recovering someone's body, we’re able to help out family members who are going through their darkest hours.
What is a well-rounded nerd?
It's someone who chooses to live an interesting life, gets obsessed about things, or has so-called nerdy tendencies about technical things like maps or mechanics. I do not consider myself an expert at much of anything, but have experience in many things: building, mechanics, agriculture, the natural world, geology, archaeology, biology, ecology, maps, medicine, cooking, travel, economics, sales, avalanches, snow science, rugby, rally racing... My latest mental expansion has been family life with my wonderful girlfriend and her two boys.
A few years back, TCSAR responded to a call where a man had been injured while skiing during the early winter. He was pretty banged up and needed to be flown out in the helicopter. “He was cold, in an odd position because of the pain, and I think scared of the possibility that his injuries were permanent,” remembers Ed Fries, a TCSAR volunteer on the mission. “And we got him out but I didn’t really hear anything about his outcome.”
Fast forward a couple of winters and Fries picks up a random hitchhiker while driving up Teton Pass. As they chatted, they both realized they’d met before—as rescuer and rescuee. The man told Fries that it was his first day back on skis since his rescue. “When I dropped him off, he came around the car and gave me a big hug,” Fries says. “It was so rewarding. Running into people you’ve helped and to know that you’ve made a difference, it’s just incredible.”
It was a long way from where Fries started after college: wearing a suit and tie to work at a trading desk in New York City. After five years of that gig, he decided to make some changes in his life. During a month-long road trip across the West, he discovered Jackson, got a job in a ski shop, and never looked back. That was 1995.
Today, Fries and his wife, Julianne, are loving dog-owners and he co-owns Factory IT, a local IT services provider that he started in 2007—same year he became a TCSAR volunteer—along with Zach Huseby, also a TCSAR volunteer at the time.
““Running into people you’ve helped and to know that you’ve made a difference, it’s just incredible.” —Ed Fries, TCSAR Volunteer”
What makes you a technology dork?
I like figuring out technology and how to apply it to help our clients. I get a kick from the challenge of understanding how and why technology works.
You have said that one of your favorite SAR skills is solving problems. How so?
A typical SAR call-out is almost never as straightforward as it appears. Whether it's communications, how we access or transport the patient, there are always challenges. Are we going to be able to get there on snowmachines or will we have to ski part of the way? Is it going to be too dark for the helicopter? So I enjoy solving those types of problems and it’s probably the same reason why I like technology.
What do you do when you’re not solving problems in the SAR and tech world?
Lots of family dog-walking and hiking lately, with some weekend mini-adventures to the less travelled areas in Teton County. Especially during Covid, I've really looked forward to weekend outdoor dinners on the deck with friends. I also have a bit of an exercise addiction, which has its pros and cons.
What has allowed you to stay active on the team?
My wife, Julianne, has been super accommodating and encouraging, even though it can be hard on her. There are a fair amount of call-outs that screw up our plans or leave her without a partner for the day. Julianne has always rolled with it and encouraged me. Her standard response to a call-out is: ‘OK, let me know when you're safe. Have fun.’ Her support is really a big part of what's allowed me to remain active in SAR for this long.
On February 21 of this year, Teton County Search & Rescue volunteer Lizzie Watson short-hauled a severely injured snowmobiler out of the Brooks Lake backcountry. The rescue came in the middle of the most intense period ever for TCSAR volunteers—just days between two avalanche fatalities—and serves as an important reminder of the dedication and life-saving role that TCSAR volunteers play in our community.
Donating to Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation during Old Bill's is the best way to show how much you appreciate their efforts.
To perform the rescue at Brooks Lake, the team executed a helicopter short-haul, a rescue technique that involves a rescuer being flown onto a scene attached to a rope beneath the helicopter, and then hooking the patient and rescuer back to the rope for a short flight to higher medical care. To maintain proficiency, the volunteers must regularly train for this high-stakes operation. The short-haul team that day included pilot Steve Wilson, TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart as spotter in the ship, and Watson as the short-hauler. It was late afternoon, meaning they only had a short window to use the helicopter before sundown.
Lizzie Watson in her other element.
Wilson landed the ship about 100 yards away from the snowmobiler. As Lockhart rigged the ship for short-haul, Watson climbed onto the back of a snowmobile, and a guide drove her to the patient. Once there, she found a chaotic scene. There were 20 people from two different groups standing around the patient. A nurse from Brooks Lake Lodge was present and gave Watson a quick rundown. “Then I did a sweep of the patient, looking for blood and asking about his injuries,” Watson remembers. “Then I was like, ‘We gotta go or we're not gonna be able to get out of here.’”
Taking control of the scene, she began sternly giving out orders to bystanders. “I put a lot of people to work to move the patient into the vacuum splint, suck out the air, get it rigid, and put him in the Bauman bag (a sling that holds the patient),” she says. “Right about the time the helicopter was flying to me, the patient said he had to vomit. So we rolled him over and he projectile-vomited… Then the heli came in, I hooked both of us up, and we flew out to the highway, but nobody was there to receive us yet.”
Now on the frozen highway, Watson spotted two guys standing by a truck, and ordered them to block traffic on either side. Then she and Lockhart loaded the patient into the ship, and flew him to higher medical care, probably saving his life.
Watson and Bandit.
Originally from Durham, North Carolina, Watson moved to Jackson in 2005, and spent about a decade working in the service industry as a busser, server, bartender, and raft guide, trying to figure out what she wanted to do as a career. She found her calling in 2010 when she got her EMT and Wilderness EMT certifications, and started volunteering in the ambulance for Jackson Hole Fire/EMS, which soon turned into part-time work. The year 2015 was big for Watson: she got hired full time as a paramedic at Fire/EMS and joined TCSAR. She’s now a Fire Captain at Station 6 on the Teton Village Road.
When she’s not at the Station or TCSAR, Watson can be found in the mountains, often with a friendly Weimaraner named Bandit, or selling handmade rugs from Kyrgyzstan as part of a business called Page and Company Collection that she and her mom launched in 2016. Though imports have been on hold due to Covid, Watson credits the effort to opening her eyes to women's issues around the world, and produced a film documenting the craft as a UNESCO intangible art.
Here is a little bit more about Watson, one of six women on the TCSAR team.
Why did you join TCSAR?
It combines all the things I love and involves unique patient care. It’s almost like MacGyvering, because you don't have the ambulance. You have some of your gear, but it's minimal and packaged differently. It challenges me to figure out a new way to do things. And then it's also skiing, and includes ropes for climbing and swiftwater. And then, of course, there’s the bonus of being able to help somebody.
Learning to breathe works in the mountains as well.
How has the last year been as a frontline medical provider during Covid?
The hardest part, in the beginning, was that protocol was always changing. Early on, we had these Level A hazmat suits, like we were dealing with Ebola. But overall, it's just trying to make sure everyone's being as safe as possible, while also providing as good of care as possible. But it definitely has added another layer of stress.
How do you keep your nerves calm in stressful situations?
I can remember a couple of times early on when I was getting amped up. I was driving the ambulance, with lights and sirens going, and the steering wheel got really fat in my hands. I could tell my heart rate was pounding, so I had to learn to breathe.
What's the best part about having a dog?
Just having someone that loves you unconditionally, and is always so happy to see you, no matter what.
How has your approach to the backcountry changed as a result of your experience at TCSAR?
I think I carry a lot more than I used to.
What keeps you coming back as a TCSAR volunteer?
It really is rewarding to feel like you've helped somebody, and maybe made their worst day a little better.
Originally from Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, Ethan Lobdell is a lifelong skier who during winter can often be found earning his turns on Teton Pass or Grand Teton National Park. He's also an educator who worked as a teacher for 16 years before becoming the executive director of the Jackson Hole Children's Museum about 18 months ago. His wife, Shoshana Kobrin, is a teacher as well, teaching Spanish at Colter Elementary School.
"The general theme is working with people and helping kids have better futures," he says.
What does it mean to be a Champion for Kids?
My brother was not accepted by traditional schooling systems, and it really affected him socially and academically. So it's important for me to create learning environments where kids of all walks of life are accepted for who they are, have an opportunity to feel celebrated, and to have a chance to learn some of the vital skills they need to navigate all the challenges that life throws at them.
How do those ‘soft skills’ come into play as a volunteer with TCSAR?
Internally, the ability to connect with people and build relationships really quickly is a vital skill set for a team of volunteers, where you don't train with the same 10 people day in and day out and go on rescues with the same 10 people day in and day out. It just requires you to know and interact with different people.
Externally, there’s the actual work of stabilizing the patient, which is priority number one. Additionally, the ability to connect with people and help involve them in the healing process that starts as soon as we show up—for patients as well as bystanders, friends and family—is definitely something that is strengthened by my skill set working with children.
Ethan Lobdell with his wife, Shoshana Kobrin, and their dog, Diego.
What motivates you to continue to volunteer?
At the end of the day, it’s about providing a critical service to the community. It’s a gift to be able to have the opportunity to do that, and to be on a team of so many dedicated members. It can also be an excuse to go on an adventure—to get a phone call at nine o'clock at night, go to a place I've never been before, and do something meaningful.
You’ve described yourself as Husband #1. What does that mean?
My wife has started to refer to two or three of our friends who help out with random chores as Husband #2 and Husband #3. That’s been the joke among our community of friends supporting each other, particularly for those of us who don't have extended family and don't have a huge family network here. So it speaks to the humor of my relationship with my wife and also the close intimacy of our friend network to support each other.
Describe your perfect ski day.
It’s being at the bottom of a run, and watching my wife and dog come down through perfect powder, with big smiles on their faces. That’s really the most important part for me—seeing the joy that they derive from skiing.
How has your approach to the mountains changed based on your experience as a TCSAR volunteer?
My awareness of how much time it takes to reach a patient has really humbled me on the consequences of mistakes. What I bring in my pack, the lines I choose to ski, and having very clear communication with my group has changed because of that lens.
Can’t get much better than this. Ethan Lobdell captured this photo of Shoshanan Kobrin and their dog, Diego, skiing on Teton Pass.
You recently got a master’s degree in decision analysis. What exactly does that do?
As humans, we often struggle at making decisions because we mostly base those decisions off of intuition. As a result, we oversimplify situations when we need to honor the complexity and uncertainty of decision making.
You have to do as much homework as is reasonable for the situation at hand, collect all the information you can, and then acknowledge that you probably aren't going to have all the information and that some of the information is imperfect.
And then once you've done all your homework, then you use your intuition. And that intuition comes from experience and training. These are some of the guiding frameworks that I'm trying to employ as I help people around me make better decisions and navigate conflict and challenges in our world.
Dr. AJ Wheeler has been a TCSAR volunteer since 2007. He is also TCSAR's medical advisor. As such, it's his job to maintain the team's medical supplies, help organize the team's medical gear, and advise the team on medical issues that might arise from patients during a rescue call. And then, of course, there's Covid. Dr. Wheeler has been integral to helping the volunteers understand and navigate the uncertainty of the pandemic. He credits his wife, Keri, son, Mason, daughter, Ellie, and the rest of the volunteers for helping him manage the many different challenges that have arisen from the virus.
Why is being a TCSAR volunteer important to you, especially as it pertains to your medical background?
I love being able to combine my professional and personal life through SAR. It is also my way of giving back to our community.
What challenges have you faced during the pandemic?
Covid has been a challenge in both realms of my life, both emergency department and SAR. As medical advisor for SAR during the pandemic, I was initially focused on advising how we could best respond and train in a safe manner while minimizing the risk to the team of volunteers. A Covid infection from a call-out could result in members missing work and affecting their livelihood. Since the rollout of the vaccine, there has been less concern but that is quickly changing with the surge in the Delta variant.
One of the biggest challenges has been figuring out how to train safely with masks and social distancing. SAR is a “team sport” so to speak, and if we can’t work closely together it’s hard to train at the level we need to.
How does your family support you as a TCSAR volunteer?
I could not be a SAR volunteer without the support of my family. My wife is the bedrock that keeps the family always supported and my kids are amazingly resilient at changing plans when a SAR call makes family life complicated.
Have you always been a runner? What do you like about it and where's your favorite place to run in Jackson Hole?
I started running in 7th grade and I have not stopped since. It’s good for both my mental and physical health. Sorry, my favorite place is a secret.
What's the best part about being a dad, aside from the dad jokes?
The best part of being a dad is seeing my kids grow. It’s amazing to see them progress from completely dependent on you to independent people guiding their own futures.
When does a joke become a dad joke?
When it becomes apparent.
