TCSAR Rescues Injured Hunter in Horse Creek Area

Just past noon on Friday, September 13, Teton County Search & Rescue was called to respond to an injured horseback rider in the Horse Creek area.

A 50-year-old man from Maryland, on the last day of his guided hunting trip, became injured after he was bucked off his horse. An emergency call from a Garmin inReach was routed from dispatch to TCSAR, with volunteers responding in the rescue helicopter. A ground team drove to the trailhead as backup.

The helicopter was able to find a landing zone near the patient, who was not able to walk due to the injury. Without the use of the helicopter, the team would have been hiking in at least six miles to bring the man out in the wheeled litter. Instead, the volunteers had a short walk to reach the patient from the helicopter.

They assessed the man’s condition and packaged him in the suck bag, a type of full-body vacuum splint. With the help of the guides, the team carried the man to the helicopter for internal transport. The heli lifted off and transported the man to a waiting ambulance at the TCSAR hangar, completing the mission in 2 hours, 5 minutes.

TCSAR Rescues 15-year-old Mountain Biker on Parallel Trail on Teton Pass

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.

TCSAR Responds to Injured Mountain Biker on Phillips Ridge Trail

At 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 4, TCSAR was called to respond to an injured mountain biker on the Phillips Ridge Trail. The 35-year-old local male, riding alone, was descending a series of switchbacks on his bike when he crashed about a mile from the trailhead on Fish Creek Road. He sustained multiple upper body injuries.

TCSAR responded with teams on foot and in a RZR side-by-side. The volunteers reached the patient and found him next to the trail. They were able to help him walk a short distance to the RZR and transport him down to the trailhead. Opting against an ambulance, the man met his girlfriend there and she transported him to higher medical care.

The volunteers headed back to the hangar in Jackson, completing the mission in 1 hour, 55 minutes.

TCSAR volunteers use a RZR side-by-side to access an injured mountain biker on the Phillips Ridge Trail on September 4, 2024. Photo: TCSAR