TCSAR's 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report Available Now

Teton County Search & Rescue had one of its most eventful years ever in 2024. That’s according to the newly released 2024 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report, which is published twice a year by Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation. The End-of-Year Rescue Report is notable because it documents the past six months of rescues, as well as a year’s worth of data about rescue demographics.

Cover image by Joey Sackett.

The 32-page report shows that with 130 calls for service between Dec. 1, 2023 and Nov. 30, 2024, TCSAR had its second highest call volume in the team’s 31-year history. Many of these calls were due to the arrival, in October 2023, of TCSAR’s new helicopter, which was called 31 times to conduct missions with the Jenny Lake Rangers in Grand Teton National Park. 

In 2024, some of the most common locations for rescues included: Togwotee Pass; Caribou-Targhee National Forest on the west side of the Tetons; the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry; and the Gros Ventre Mountains. Those ages 16-30 issued the most rescue calls, with 38 percent, while local and regional backcountry users accounted for 43 percent of all calls.

In 2024, TCSAR’s helicopter was used more than 60 times. Photo: TCSAR

The report shows that the TCSAR’s 38 volunteers dedicated a collective 10,827 hours back to the community in the form of rescues, training, and community events.

TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart explains that the volunteers accomplish what they do thanks to an unwavering commitment to teamwork.

“Within our Team, there is a culture of finding where you can be the most helpful and then proudly filling that role,” Lockhart writes in the report’s Intro Letter. “It is not about being a hero or an all-star—it is about being the best teammate possible. It is not about getting credit for the job—it is about making sure the job gets done.”

Other key takeaways from the report include:

• The TCSAR helicopter program, in its first year of operation, completed more than 60 missions, demonstrating how invaluable this tool has become during a time when backcountry recreation shows no signs of slowing down.

• The report includes 21 rescue summaries from the summer in Grand Teton National Park, during which Jenny Lake Rangers executed rescue missions with TCSAR’s helicopter and pilot. These summaries are intended to help educate the public about the partnership between the Jenny Lake Rangers and TCSAR, and how the county’s heli resource is being used.

• TCSAR will take on a new class of volunteers in 2025.

• A strategic plan outlining the goals and initiatives for TCSAR and the Foundation, including hosting the International Commission for Alpine Rescue in October 2025, and prioritizing programming from the Foundation’s education and outreach efforts through Backcountry Zero.

Rescue Reports are free and can be found at a number of participating businesses in Jackson Hole. If you’d like to be on our mailing list, please send an email to info@tetoncountysar.org. Digital versions are available for download at the TCSAR website.

GTNP and TCSAR Partner for Avalanche Rescue in the Tetons

MOOSE, Wyo.— On Sunday afternoon, February 4, Grand Teton National Park rangers requested helicopter assistance from Teton County Search & Rescue (TCSAR) to respond to an injured skier on Prospectors Mountain inside the park. The skier, a 29-year-old local woman, along with four men were near the top of the Banana Couloir at 10,800 feet when they triggered and were caught by an avalanche. Three in the group were able to self-arrest, while one of the men was carried 500 feet and the woman was carried by the snow slide approximately 1,500 vertical feet. Neither skier was fully buried, however, the woman sustained serious injuries.

The upper reaches of the Banana Couloir in GTNP. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR prepared the helicopter with three rescue volunteers and a pilot. The crew flew up into the Banana, a prominent couloir on the east face of Prospectors Mountain. The volunteers were able to short-haul the injured skier off the mountain and fly her to a waiting National Park Service ambulance at Windy Point Turnout. The rest of the party were able to ski out on their own. 

An avalanche on February 4, 2024, caught and carried five skiers, one of whom was swept 1,500 vertical feet down the mountain. Photo: TCSAR

Short-haul is a rescue method where a patient and rescuer are secured to a fix rope that is connected to the belly of the helicopter for a short flight out of the backcountry. It is often used in steep terrain where landing the helicopter is not an option. 

With new snow falling on the Tetons, backcountry users are being reminded to read the daily avalanche forecast at the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center. TCSAR and Grand Teton were appreciative of the collaborative effort to bring this incident to a close.

TCSAR Operates Interagency Avalanche Rescue with Grand Teton National Park Rangers

Grand Teton National Park has issued the following press release regarding an interagency rescue on Albright Peak on Monday, January 16. TCSAR appreciates the partnership with the Park in conducting this operations.

Rangers respond to injured man involved in avalanche

Winter recreationists should take safety precautions

MOOSE, WY — Teton Interagency Dispatch Center (TIDC) received an emergency call at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16 notifying them that a snowboarder was injured off the west side of Albright Peak in Grand Teton National Park. The snowboarder, a local Idaho man, was caught in an avalanche and swept into Death Canyon.  

This video shows the slide path of the avalanche on the west face of Albright Peak in Grand Teton National Park. Courtesy of GTNP.

A member of the injured man’s party called 911 and was able to provide location information to the park’s search and rescue staff. Staff gathered medical and extraction equipment and jointly responded with Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) staff and helicopter.    

The crown of the avalanche on the west face of Albright Peak. Photo: Courtesy of Grand Teton National Park

The rescue crew located the injured man and after initial assessment, it was determined that the patient could walk a short distance to the helicopter. The patient and two uninjured members of his party were flown to a landing zone near the Teton Park Road where they met a waiting ambulance. The helicopter then returned for the remaining two rescuers and the fourth member of the party, still on Albright Peak. After further assessment in the ambulance, the patient refused additional medical care and self-transported to St. John’s Hospital with his companions.

Upon observation at the avalanche site, it was determined that the skier was carried approximately 600 feet, striking multiple objects before coming to rest against a tree. The avalanche ran a total of 2,400 feet from beginning to end, was about 300 feet wide and varied from one to five feet deep.

Quick response and a close working relationship with TCSAR made it possible to deploy interagency resources directly and save time in the field.  

The avalanche hazard rating for the Teton forecast zone at the time of the avalanche was moderate and skiers and riders should always exercise caution when entering high consequence avalanche terrain.  

Anyone planning to recreate in the backcountry should visit the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center at jhavalanche.org to obtain an avalanche forecast. Anyone recreating in avalanche terrain should utilize safe travel practices whether on skis, a snowboard, or a snowmobile.