Teton County Search & Rescue Provides Heli Assist in Grand County, Colorado

Jackson, Wyo. — On Thursday, Oct. 3, Teton County Search & Rescue, along with two Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers from Grand Teton National Park, assisted in the recovery of a deceased trail runner in the mountains of Grand County, Colorado. The body of the runner, who had fallen into extremely rugged terrain on Aug. 28, was in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, which is located about an hour’s drive west of the city of Boulder. 

After numerous failed attempts to retrieve the body, local and regional rescue teams began exploring options this week with TCSAR. The Jackson, Wyoming-based SAR team considered the request for a short-haul operation. Due to the flight distance to Colorado, the team would have to depart Jackson and spend the night in Colorado before attempting the rescue operation. TCSAR checked with their US Forest Service partners to ensure that the region would have a backup rescue helicopter in case of a local emergency. Determining that local SAR personnel would have backup heli support if necessary, a specialized team from TCSAR and GTNP departed Jackson at 3 p.m. on Oct. 2. 

TCSAR provided a helicopter assist in Grand County, Colorado, on October 3, 2024. It was the first time the Jackson, Wyoming, team had responded to an incident in Colorado. Photo: TCSAR

The Wyoming team flew to Rawlins, refueled, and then continued to Granby, where they met the local SAR team with the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.

On the morning of Oct. 3, the team choppered to the site on Arikaree Peak, a steep, rugged 13,146-foot mountain with numerous couloirs and loose rock. Once the Wyoming team located the body, they were able to short-haul themselves onto the scene. They recovered the body and provided transport to the Granby Airport via a long line connected to the helicopter. The helicopter returned to Arikaree and short-hauled the rescuers off the mountain.

Short-haul is a method of rescue in which rescuers can be inserted or extracted via a rope connected to the belly of the helicopter. It is often used in terrain that is too steep or rugged to land a ship. 

The team debriefed the mission with Grand County SAR, and departed for Jackson, with the ship safely landing at the TCSAR hangar at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 3.

“This was a unique rescue for us for many reasons,” said TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart. “This was the first time we have been called down to Colorado and there were a lot of individuals and agencies involved in the rescue effort. This was also a tough rescue for us to assist with, from both a technical level and the heavy nature of the job. We are grateful that we were able to help get this man off the mountain and home to his family.”

In a press release, Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin expressed, “My thanks to our partner agencies including Grand County Search and Rescue, Grand County Coroner’s Office, Colorado Search and Rescue, Boulder County, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group, Alpine Rescue Team, the Colorado Army National Guard, Med Evac, Teton County Search and Rescue, National Park Service, and the United States Forest Service for their diligence in safely recovering the decedent and returning him to his family while weighing the importance of rescuer and responder safety.”

TCSAR expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased, and wishes to thank their partners with GTNP, Grand County Sheriff’s Office and SAR, and Colorado Search & Rescue for their assistance in bringing this operation to a successful close.

TCSAR Provides Heli Assist for Injured Hiker near Ketchum, Idaho

This release has been corrected from an earlier version to indicate that local rescuers were able to reach the patient.

Jackson, Wyo. — At 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, Teton County Search & Rescue received a request for helicopter assistance for an injured hiker in the mountains east of Ketchum, Idaho. The hiker, an adult male, had fallen while attempting Hyndman Peak, a 12,012-foot mountain in the Pioneer Mountain Range. 

Hyndman Peak is a 12,012-foot mountain in the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho. Photo: TCSAR

Near the top of the peak, the man had fallen into extremely rugged terrain and sustained a serious leg injury. A mutual aid response between the Ketchum Fire and Sun Valley Fire departments coordinated the rescue. Incident command’s initial approach placed three local first-responders on a saddle below the Hyndman summit via a helicopter from Air St. Luke’s. Those three individuals were able to access the top of the peak and then descend to the patient, where they began initial treatment and packaging for a technical rescue. Deciding that they would need a heli team with short-haul capabilities in order to complete the rescue, they called Teton County, Wyoming, dispatch and were connected to TCSAR. 

TCSAR has an established history of assisting rescue agencies outside of Teton County if the request meets certain operational criteria. In 2023, the team conducted nine out-of-county assists; this incident marked the team’s fifth out-of-county call in 2024. 

This was the fifth out-of-county rescue performed by TCSAR in 2024. Photo: TCSAR

As the team considered the request on Saturday, they looked at several factors, including: flight distance to the subject, weather, weight of the ship and crew, fuel capacity, and the safety of the rescue team. Knowing that taking the TCSAR heli out of the county was a big decision, they checked in with their partners at Grand Teton National Park and the U.S. Forest Service to ensure the county had a backup plan while the team was conducting the Idaho mission.

After running through the rescue scenario, the team felt confident they would be able to help their Idaho neighbors. The heli team, consisting of the pilot and two TCSAR volunteers, was able to fly directly to the patient and successfully short-haul him to a waiting ambulance at a nearby trailhead. Short-haul is a method of rescue in which rescuers and patient are hoisted via a long line connected to the belly of the helicopter. It is often used in terrain that is too steep or rugged to land a ship. 

TCSAR appreciates the coordination of this rescue from Ketchum and Sun Valley Fire. Photo: TCSAR

After transferring the patient to the local EMS provider, the Jackson team flew to the Freidman Memorial Airport outside of Hailey, refueled, and departed for Jackson, completing the mission in 5 hours, 30 minutes. 

Throughout the mission, TCSAR held radio contact with the homebase in Jackson as well as the incident command in Ketchum. The team is grateful for the coordination from Ketchum and Sun Valley Fire and was happy to be able to help bring the patient safely out of the backcountry.

TCSAR Provides Heli Assist for Injured Skier in Yellowstone National Park

Jackson, Wyo. — On Wednesday, April 24, Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert for an injured female Nordic skier in the Fairy Falls area of Yellowstone National Park near Old Faithful. The 55-year-old woman and her partner had skied about a mile into the backcountry before an injury prevented them from continuing on their own. They issued an emergency call that was picked up by the Yellowstone Communications Center.

Yellowstone National Park has been the site of numerous interagency rescues over the years by Teton County Search & Rescue. Photo: TCSAR

Yellowstone park rangers skied in to help the injured skier. Upon arrival, rangers requested helicopter assistance from TCSAR. At present time, TCSAR has the region's only SAR-dedicated helicopter. Though Yellowstone is not a regular location for TCSAR missions, the team has done and will continue to perform rescues in the park if and when requested by park officials. 

TCSAR was able to find and emergency evac an injured nordic skier from the Fairy Falls area of Yellowstone National Park on April 24, 2024. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR responded to this incident with a heli team consisting of three volunteers and a pilot, with an initial plan of doing a possible short-haul extraction. The team departed the hangar in Jackson at 3:36 p.m.

Flight time to the Fairy Falls area was about 30 minutes. The helicopter circled several times before spotting the injured party. After locating the patient, they landed the ship and were able to load the injured skier and partner into the helicopter. The team then flew the skiers to a landing zone on the Grand Loop Road inside the park, where they transferred the patient to a waiting ambulance.

Thanks to the coordinated response between YNP and TCSAR, the mission was completed in 3 hours, 30 minutes. Photo: TCSAR

Afterward, the team flew back to Jackson, completing the mission in 3 hours, 30 minutes. TCSAR appreciates the coordinated effort from Yellowstone National Park to bring this operation to a successful close.