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.

Join us August 15 for "Lessons at 13,000 Feet: Stories from the High Alpine"

Jackson, Wyo. — On August 15, Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation, Teton Climber’s Coalition and Jenny Lake Rangers are proud to present an evening where stories of close calls, misadventures, and first-responder perspectives are being given a stage for listening and reflection. 

This free event features live storytelling at the Black Diamond store in downtown Jackson.

As we enter the prime season for high altitude adventures, ‘Lessons at 13,000 Feet: Stories from the High Alpine’ will share insights to how people survive, and respond to, backcountry accidents above the treeline.

Storytellers include local climbers Lars Schou and Hadden Goodman, along with Jenny Lake Climbing Rangers Zack Little and Ken Kries, and TCSAR volunteer Jen Reddy. Each speaker will go into detail about how an experience in the mountains influenced their relationship to risk and adventure. 

While Little and Kries will discuss their points of view from a first-responder perspective, Reddy, Schou and Goodman will discuss incidents involving serious injuries: what happened, how they each responded to the trauma, and how it may have changed their relationship to risk and mountain adventures. 

Incidents like this are not uncommon in the Tetons, but getting to understand the decisions that contributed to them, and the reflections they’ve catalyzed, is an experience few get to have.

Doors open at 6 p.m., stories begin at 6:30 p.m. Roadhouse Beer and Yeah Buddy pizza provided. Register HERE to let us know you’re coming and be entered into a raffle!

TCSAR Provides Heli Assist for Skier Rescue in the Wind River Mountains

At 8:42 p.m. on Monday, April 15, Teton County Search & Rescue received a call from Tip Top Search & Rescue for helicopter assistance to help a female skier having a medical issue deep in the Wind River Mountains.

The 29-year-old patient and her partner were on a multi-day ski traverse of the Winds when her condition deteriorated on Downs Mountain. Downs is a large flat-topped mountain that straddles the Continental Divide at 13,355 feet above sea level.

On their first approach to Downs Mountain, TCSAR encountered low-lying clouds that inhibited their ability to find a proper landing zone.

On Monday, the skiers used a satellite communication device to issue a distress call that was picked up by Tip Top SAR in Sublette County. Tip Top mobilized a ground response and called Teton County SAR for heli assistance. As TCSAR currently has the area’s only SAR-dedicated helicopter, the Jackson-based team was ready and willing to offer its help.

Special permission was granted by the U.S. Forest Service to enter wilderness with both helo and sleds due to the extreme conditions and life-saving measures needed.

Early in the morning on Tuesday, April 16, TCSAR assembled a team consisting of the pilot, one TCSAR volunteer, and one Grand Teton National Park Climbing Ranger. The heli team departed the TCSAR hangar in Jackson at 7 a.m. 

The clouds parted on the team’s second approach, giving them a narrow window to land the helicopter and retrieve the patient before the weather closed back in.

On their initial approach to Downs, the team encountered low-lying clouds that prevented their progress. They came within a mile of the distressed party but had to turn around for their own safety. The team flew back to Jackson to refuel before departing again. Knowing the forecast called for inclement weather starting this afternoon, the team believed Tuesday morning was their best window of opportunity to reach the patient

As they approached Downs on the second flight, the clouds parted, allowing the ship to land near the distressed skier. The team assessed her condition, loaded her into the ship, and flew back to Jackson and transferred her to an ambulance with Jackson Hole Fire/EMS. 

Downs Mountain is a large, flat-topped mountain in the middle of the Wind River Range. It straddles the Continental Divide at 13,355 feet. The skiers were camped near the top.

Due to weight, flight distance, and the power needed for high-altitude flying, the team could not pick up the woman’s partner. He eventually met up with Tip Top SAR, who brought him out via snowmachine.

This successful rescue is a great example of why TCSAR asked for the community’s help in purchasing a rescue-dedicated helicopter. We are grateful to have this resource, and we are honored to work with our interagency partners and regional SAR teams to bring people out of the backcountry safely. Thank you to Tip Top SAR for coordinating this rescue, and to everyone who has supported these efforts along the way.