This post has been updated from an earlier version:
Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers, along with Togwotee Mountain Guides, were involved in a strenuous search yesterday evening, December 29, for four snowmobilers who’d become stuck and lost off trail on Togwotee Pass. The teams searched for the lost party during dangerous whiteout conditions, and eventually brought them out of the backcountry around midnight.
Whiteout conditions and darkness made Sunday’s rescue mission on Togwotee Pass very challenging. Photo: TCSAR
TCSAR wants to highlight the critical help provided by Togwotee Mountain Guides, who assisted the rescue effort even though the party in question was not part of their operation.
There were some hard lessons learned last night. We share these lessons to remind everyone to do the following: Make sure you are aware of the weather and the ability level of everyone in your party; if you become lost, stay together; and finally, do not leave your snowmobile and try to walk out.
TCSAR volunteers and Togwotee Mountain Guides respond to help four lost snowmobilers on Sunday, December 29, 2024. Photo: TCSAR
The call for help came at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday. The party consisted of two Jackson residents, male and female with previous backcountry experience, who rented two tandem sleds to take their visiting parents, who are in their 60s, out for an unguided snowmobile excursion on Togwotee Pass. They had a map on their phone of their intended route. However, the groomed trail they started on eventually became ungroomed, causing their sleds to get stuck. To call for help, the Jackson woman used her iPhone's satellite function to text a friend in town, and followed up with a text to 911 about an hour later to provide coordinates and trail location. The party then left their snowmobiles to attempt to walk out.
TCSAR arrived on Togwotee with a team of six snowmobilers. Battling whiteout conditions, the volunteers found the stranded rental sleds but not the people. The team then discovered a ping from the phone in another drainage. Togwotee guides responded into that drainage and located the lost party at about 10:30 p.m.
The team eventually transported the party out of the backcountry to safety by midnight, with volunteers making it home around 3 a.m. The volunteers reiterated their appreciation for the help from Togwotee Mountain Guides, and are glad the lost snowmobilers made it out of a scary situation.