Old Bill's Highlight #2: "Train Big, Rescue Small"

It's a well-known fact that rescues get all the attention. But when it comes to how TCSAR volunteers spend the majority of their time, it's all about training. And more training. And more training.

TCSAR volunteers train at least twice a month, and even more when it involves helicopter operations. Last year, the volunteers spent a collective 10,842 hours on training, with 6,195 hours on rescues. Suffice to say it's a huge time commitment — but absolutely necessary for the volunteers to be Rescue Ready.

You can help support these efforts by TCSAR volunteers to save lives by donating to TCSAR Foundation at OldBills.org. It’s the best time of year to stretch your donation to help the team. Click the button below to find out more. Thanks for supporting TCSAR!

Old Bill's Giving Season, TCSAR Highlight #1: The Importance of TEAM

Teamwork is a huge component of TCSAR’s success, as this photo from a high-angle training shows. Photo: David Stubbs

How do TCSaR Volunteers Stay Rescue Ready?

That's a frequent question these days, especially considering how busy the volunteers have been in 2022. Since January 1, TCSAR has been called more than 90 times. This far outpaces the call volume last year, when the team had a record 105 calls for service.

The near constant stream of callouts means the volunteers need to be Rescue Ready at a moment's notice. That's why during this Old Bill's Giving Season — the most important event of the year to support TCSAR — we're bringing you insights to key pillars of the team's ability to respond: Teamwork, Training, Fitness, Equipment, and Community.

This week, we're focusing on Team. To the person, all 42 volunteers believe that what makes someone a great TCSAR volunteer are not their individual skills but their ability to work with the rest of the team.

To learn more about the importance of teamwork at TCSAR, click the button blow. Thanks for supporting the TEAM!

TCSAR Earns Winter Accreditation from Mountain Rescue Association

Teton County Search & Rescue recently passed a series of winter-based tests administered by the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA), helping the team earn winter rescue accreditation from the oldest SAR association in the country.

Those who keep a close watch on TCSAR are already aware of the volunteers' high level of commitment and care, but the accreditation demonstrates their skills according to a national set of standards, and is yet another reason for the community to be proud of their efforts.

The accreditation means TCSAR has access to MRA’s extensive network of teams from across the country and advanced training opportunities with outside agencies. “We are constantly seeking ways to improve, and getting feedback from folks outside our organization can identify things we miss internally,” said Doug van Houten, TCSAR’s logistics advisor and team member since 2015. “That we passed with flying colors validates our high training standards and places member expectations inline with industry standards.”

The recent MRA test included 19 TCSAR members who had to demonstrate skills in numerous avalanche rescue and winter emergency scenarios. Photo: David Bowers

The accreditation process consisted of three different field tests on January 22 up on Teton Pass. Nineteen volunteers from TCSAR took part, including nine members from the team’s new class. The team already trains on many of the scenarios featured in the accreditation, but they still ran through the paces during regular team trainings in December and January and practiced on their own time as well. Three members from the local Venture Crew also participated as patients.

The biggest piece was a simulated avalanche rescue, consisting of an unknown number of burials, beacon searches, probe lines, uncovering the buried patients, and providing patient care and transport. The test began with a reporting party saying they had seen an avalanche hit another group of skiers but that they didn’t know how many people were buried. Under the close observation from four MRA accreditors, the team initiated an Incident Command structure, held a safety briefing to set up roles and responsibilities, identified external hazards, and then sprung into action.

Providing a high standard of patient care is a key element to all TCSAR training exercises. Photo: David Bowers

“Through the beacon search, we found two subjects, one was deceased, and another we got a pulse through CPR,” van Houten said of the simulation. “We provided medical care to that patient, and needed to demonstrate rigging for transport. At the same time, we found another subject hiding in the trees. Through that person, we learned that another skier was missing. We initiated a probe line along a series of clues, going fingertip to fingertip, elbow to elbow, and found the last burial subject.”

While the probe line was taking place, other team members were testing on providing patient care and technical rope rigging to transport the first subject. Other parts of the accreditation included an equipment check for five individual members, as well as demonstrating the use of ice axes, crampons, and self-arresting on steep slopes.

To be fully MRA accredited and become a regular member, TCSAR would also need to complete the association’s summer accreditation in Technical Rescue and Search Management. As yet, this hasn’t been scheduled.

“The team values its partnerships and relationships,” van Houten said. “Accreditation provides additional opportunities for TCSAR to network with other mountain rescue teams to both gather and share ideas and best practices.”

During the MRA test, TCSAR had to conduct a probe line based on visual clues to find an avalanche burial victim. A grim but necessary skill for winter rescue in Jackson Hole. Photo: David Bowers