The Fine Line Podcast Presents: A Very Close Call in Phillips Canyon

Jackson, Wyo. — Season 8 of The Fine Line podcast rolls onward with a story about a mountain bike crash with potentially serious consequences on a favorite local trail. The episode dives into the effectiveness of the BackcountrySOS app, and how Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers responded with delicate treatment of potentially life-altering injuries in the field.

“A Bridge Too Far: The Phillip’s Log Strikes Again” airs today, May 23, at 2 p.m. on KHOL 89.1 FM, and afterward on your favorite podcast platform.

Thanks to Rick Gordon and Dr. Tobin Dennis for sharing their experiences so the rest of us can learn—right as mountain bike season ramps up across the Mountain West.

Produced by Backcountry Zero, Season 8 of The Fine Line is presented by Stio, with support from Arc’teryx and KHOL. Original art by Jen Reddy Ink. The Fine Line’s theme song is by Anne & Pete Sibley, with additional music produced by Ben Winship. The Fine Line is produced and hosted by Matt Hansen, with editing and sound by Melinda Binks.

Learn more about The Fine Line atBackcountryZero.com.

Classic Rock: the Exciting Season Finale The Fine Line

In the next episode of The Fine Line podcast, we close out Season 7 with a wild story from August 22, 2022. The conversation goes deep into how a highly experienced mountain biker got a little too close to that big rock on Ferrin’s—yes, that rock—and how her companion and Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers helped her get home during a torrential rainstorm.

Listen today at 2 p.m. on KHOL 89.1 FM, and afterward wherever you get your podcasts.

As this is the final episode of Season 7, we want to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who has come on this podcast to share their stories of resilience and survival, and to our generous sponsors Roadhouse Brewing Co., and Stio.

Special thanks to the musical artists Anne & Pete Sibley and Ben Winship for providing such beautiful sounds to accompany these stories, and to Melinda Binks for her masterful editing and partnership in producing this podcast with Matt Hansen. Caryn Flanagan is our smooth voice for sponsor readings.

And of course, to all the TCSAR volunteers who give so much of themselves to our community to bring people home after an accident in the backcountry. We are all indebted to your service.

TCSAR Responds to Three Calls in Two Days

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers responded to three calls between July 7-8, making for a busy few days that covered nearly their entire service area.

Just before noon on Friday, July 7, a local woman in her 50s was hiking with her dog on the History trail when she came down with a lower leg injury. TCSAR responded with a team driving the RZR (a utility terrain vehicle) up the Old Pass Road. The volunteers located the patient, splinted the injury, transported her in the wheeled litter back to the RZR, and drove her down the Old Pass Road to her vehicle. The team completed the mission in 2 hours and 30 minutes.

TCSAR uses the wheeled litter to help transport an injured patient out of Teton Canyon, on the west side of the Tetons. Photo: TCSAR

At 7 a.m. on Saturday morning, July 8, the team received a call regarding a cyclist having a medical issue at Mosquito Lake off the Union Pass Road. TCSAR volunteers responded by driving a SAR truck towing the RZR on a trailer to the north access of Union Pass Road. They then drove the RZR down the dirt road to Mosquito Lake, where they met the patient and his riding partner, who were both visiting from out of state. The team then drove the men, with their bikes loaded on a bike rack attached to the RZR, out of the backcountry and back to Jackson for higher medical care. Due to the remoteness of Mosquito Lake and the long drive, this mission wrapped up in 8 hours, 32 minutes.

As that rescue call played out on Saturday, TCSAR received a call at 12:25 p.m. from the west side of the Tetons. This concerned a visiting man in his mid-60s who had sustained a lower leg injury while hiking on the North Teton trail of Table Mountain. The man’s companions were able to provide initial treatment but required further assistance from TCSAR to get out of the backcountry. Volunteers drove to the trailhead and entered the backcountry on foot carrying the wheeled litter. Once on scene, they packaged the man in the litter and wheeled him out about a mile to the trailhead. The mission took 5 hours and 5 minutes to complete.