The Fine Line Presents: "Tougher Than A Spud Bar"

As you know from following Teton County Search & Rescue, there are a million and one ways for people to get into trouble in the backcountry. And it is unfair to assume that everyone is being reckless.

Sometimes, they just get their foot stuck.

Doug Van Houten has been a volunteer with Teton County Search & Rescue since 2015. Photos: David Bowers

In the next episode of The Fine Line, Teton County Search & Rescue volunteer Doug Van Houten takes us back to an incident from 2018 when the SAR team had to pull out all the stops in order to help a Nordic skier get out of a jam, literally, in Teton Canyon. It goes to show you never know what you might need to get the job done.

“Tougher Than A Spud Bar” airs today, August 1, at 2 p.m. on KHOL 89.1 FM, and afterward on your preferred podcast platform.

Produced by Backcountry Zero, Season 8 of The Fine Line is presented by Stio, with support from Arc'teryx and KHOL. Original art above by Jen Reddy.

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.