At 11:41 a.m. on Sunday, September 8, TCSAR was called to respond to an injured mountain biker on Teton Pass. The patient, a 15-year-old female from Idaho, had crashed on her mountain bike while descending Parallel, a downhill-only trail that descends between the Old Pass Road and Hwy 22. The girl reportedly had trouble on a corner and fell into a steep, rocky gully.

TCSAR volunteers transport a young mountain biker to higher medical care on September 8, 2024. Photo: TCSAR

A call to 911 dispatch was relayed to TCSAR, which responded with volunteers going up the Old Pass Road and Hwy 22. A group of volunteers approached the patient on foot and began initial treatment. Due to her injuries and location, the volunteers rigged a raise system. For this operation, they placed the patient in a litter and used ropes to lift and raise her out of the gully about 100 yards back up to the trail.

Holding the litter upright, the team then assembled a wheel to the bottom of the litter in order to transport her a quarter mile to a pullout on Hwy 22. At that point, they transferred her to a waiting ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS and returned to the hangar, completing the mission in 2 hours, 9 minutes.