Back-to-Back Heli Rescues for TCSAR on March 18

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue utilized its helicopter to perform back-to-back rescues on Saturday, March 18.

In the first, a witness called 911 at roughly 1:30 p.m. Saturday after watching a skier fall about 700 feet down Central Couloir on Cody Peak. Central is a highly visible and extremely steep, technical ski descent in the backcountry south of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. In order to access it, one must exit the resort gates, climb the ridge of Cody Peak before dropping into the couloir from the summit.

A skier carefully descends Central Couloir in the JHMR backcountry after his partner fell, requiring a TCSAR rescue. Photo: TCSAR

Ski patrollers and TCSAR volunteers help carry a patient to the rescue ship in Cody Bowl on March 18. Photo: TCSAR

The skier, a woman from Salt Lake City, lost her balance about halfway down the couloir. She tumbled down the couloir and over a cliff band at the bottom, sustaining multiple injuries. Her partner, a man from Victor, Idaho, was still up in the couloir.

JHMR ski patrol were first on scene while TCSAR mobilized a response with a team in the helicopter. The helicopter was able to land in Cody Bowl, where ski patrollers and SAR members helped load the patient inside the ship. Then, she was flown to a landing zone (LZ) and waiting ambulance at the base of Teton Village.

The woman’s partner was able to collect her skis still in the couloir. He pitched them over the cliff at the bottom before he jumped the mandatory exit cliffs to the field of snow below. He was able to ski out of the backcountry on his own power.

TCSAR is grateful for the partnership with JHMR Ski Patrol for the seamless response to help this skier get the help she needed.

The Teton Village landing zone and coordinated partnerships help TCSAR successfuly close rescue calls. Photo: TCSAR

Just after 3 p.m. on Saturday, TCSAR was contacted by Bonneville County Idaho SAR for a helicopter assist of a missing snowmobiler in the Palisades area of the Snake River Mountains. A 50-year-old man had gone missing after riding his snowmobile up Pole Canyon, outside of Victor, Idaho, on Friday and had not been seen or heard from since. Teton County Idaho SAR was involved in the hours-long search on snowmobiles. Air Idaho, a private helicopter ambulance, joined the search from the air.

TCSAR’s heli team searched for more than two hours from the air. The team eventually spotted the man; he was alive but stuck in extreme terrain. The heli landed and volunteers were able to reach him and help him board the ship for a flight out of the backcountry. TCSAR’s heli team was able to get back to the hangar in Jackson at 7:15 p.m., about 20 minutes before sunset.

TCSAR appreciates the coordination from the different SAR teams and agencies involved to help find this missing snowmobiler and get him back to safety. These incidents underscore the importance of having a life-saving rescue helicopter available at a moment’s notice. TCSAR currently leases its ship for eight months per year. Given the increased rate of rescues, the team is presently trying to raise enough money to purchase a year-round SAR helicopter for Teton County. Learn more about this effort here.

Lost...and Found with Lifeseeker, a Heli Rescue Transmitter

This story is being republished from its original release date of May 27, 2020, with updated info and new photos.

Let’s say you are backpacking in the middle of the Gros Ventre Wilderness, or deep within a remote canyon in the Jed Smith. Somehow, you unfortunately break your leg. Without having cellular service and being very far from help, what do you do?

TCSAR volunteer Lexie Drechsel uses Lifeseeker during a training on May 24, 2022, to find a cellular device where no cellular service exists.

If you can, send someone for help and hunker down as best as possible. But even then, that leaves many questions about the outcome of your potential rescue: How long can you last due to exposure? What about weather, wildlife, and the seriousness of your injury? 

These situations, though rare, occur when someone becomes stranded, lost, or incapacitated in a wilderness environment, leading to extended rescues involving dozens if not hundreds of people searching for clues of your whereabouts.

But thanks to one of the more unique tools within the Teton County Search & Rescue toolkit, you might be found in a much quicker fashion. Known as Lifeseeker, this aircraft-mounted cellular transmitter enables a helicopter search team to locate you based on the pings in the cellular network—even when there is no cellular service. 

“Lifeseeker is another tool in toolbox and I think it’s amazing that TCSAR has access to this technology,” says TCSAR volunteer Lexie Drechsel, who joined the team in 2021. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to be part of multiple trainings this spring, running several iterations with Lifeseeker. In the case of a missing/injured party of unknown location, it’s a huge asset that we have multiple team members trained and prepared to operate the technology smoothly.”

When activated, Lifeseeker effectively acts as an airborne cellular transmitter, allowing a helicopter search team to pick up and locate specific numbers coming off your phone. When your phone is powered on and not in airplane mode, it constantly sends out a unique IMEI number (think of it as a digital fingerprint) to connect with the nearest cell tower. If the SAR team knows that IMEI number, they can hone in on its exact location as the number is transmitted through Lifeseeker. When Lifeseeker picks up on the IMEI, the location is displayed on a pair of iPads connected to a primary controller box. Both rescuer and pilot have iPads so they each both see the location of the device.

TCSAR pilot Steve Wilson hones in on a lost subject using Lifeseeker during a training on May 24, 2022.

In other words, when Lifeseeker passes overhead inside the TCSAR helicopter, it acts as a temporary service provider, connecting your phone to the team inside.

“Once we have a confirmed location, we can send a text message to that device, and, if able, someone can text back,” says TCSAR team member Eric Helgoth, a volunteer since 2004. “However, if we fly over looking for phone X, and phone Y sees they have a cell signal, phone Y can’t use that signal.” 

Nor does TCSAR have the ability (and, it should be noted, the desire) to block or interfere with anyone’s cellular service. Lifeseeker is simply a rescue aid. Designed by a Spanish firm, Centim, this is the first such device in use in the U.S. TCSAR obtained it through an anonymous donor.

“We’ve got a dozen different ways to find someone,” Helgoth says. “It’s just one more tool in our toolbox. It’s not going to work in every instance.”

Turn it up to 11. And if you’re lost, keep your phone charged up and on so Lifeseeker can find you.

For example, Lifeseeker won’t find you if your phone is turned off or in airplane mode. It is only able to receive and transmit phones that are actively seeking a cell tower. So it’s a good idea to bring a backup power source, and make your phone active if you know you’re being sought by Search & Rescue. Goal Zero makes some great power banks for rugged outdoor use, as does Outdoor Tech. 

TCSAR has a range of options to do helicopter searches depending on the rescue scenario. One is the RECCO SAR Helicopter Detector, a 174-pound drum that hangs 15 meters (about 49 feet) below the helicopter. Flying 300 feet above the ground at 60 mph, the detector scans 600 square feet every second. The team also has a heli avalanche beacon, which picks up signals from buried avalanche transceivers.

Another useful took from TCSAR is Backcountry SOS, a free app that allows a user to text an emergency directly to 911 in Teton County. The app is now available in 12 counties across the West, and has been used to save lives in Jackson Hole.

TCSAR Searches For and Finds Body Believed to be Robert Lowery on Teton Pass

Teton County Search and Rescue issued the following news release regarding the search for Robert ‘Bob’ Lowery on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021:

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue conducted a search for Robert ‘Bob’ Lowery at the base of Teton Pass, Wyo., on Tuesday, Sept. 28. After four hours of searching on foot, a team with a search dog located a body fitting Lowery’s description on a steep, timbered slope. Lowery, a 46-year-old man from Houston, hadn’t been seen since August 20.

On the search were 25 volunteers, along with three dog teams from the region, including from Jackson Hole Search Dogs and another from Driggs, Idaho. 

An investigation into Lowery’s whereabouts had been ongoing within the Teton County Sheriff’s Office, but new clues recently surfaced that prompted the SAR callout. 

The widespread news coverage of the Gabby Petito search helped bring light to Lowery’s case, and resulted in at least two members of the public calling local authorities this past weekend with new information about his possible last seen point. The new information put Lowery on the Black Canyon Trail, wearing a black baseball cap with a gold P, and carrying a duffle bag with the Nike logo.

Given this new information, TCSAR initiated a response. The volunteers split into seven teams and combed the thick timbered area surrounding Black Canyon, a popular hiking and mountain biking trail in the summer. At about 1 p.m., a dog team located a body and Nike duffle bag significantly off trail on a steep, wooded slope. Volunteers spent Tuesday afternoon recovering the body from the mountainside. Collectively, the search teams hiked more than 75 miles and covered 22,500 feet in elevation. 

TCSAR offers its gratitude to all those who helped in the search, and sends its most sincere condolences to the family of the deceased.