TCSAR Is Looking For New Volunteers. Apply Before January 31, 2025

Teton County Search & Rescue is excited to announce that it will bring on a new class of volunteers in 2025. With the team currently standing at 38 volunteers, new class members help infuse new energy to the ranks while allowing more seasoned volunteers the chance to pass on their knowledge to ensure a bright future for TCSAR.

If you are looking for the opportunity to become a volunteer and make a positive impact on our community, the team invites you to apply.

Many people often think that you need to be a rockstar in the backcountry in order to be a TCSAR volunteer. While skills in mountain navigation and backcountry medicine are helpful, TCSAR volunteers stress that the most important skill for being on the team is the ability to be a strong teammate. There are no heroes—just good people who work together to get the job done.

““Joining TCSAR has been an amazing journey and I am so grateful for the opportunity to support our community. We all love exploring and recreating in the mountains and inevitably things can go wrong. Being there to support folks on their worst day with the goal of making it a little less awful is incredibly rewarding.””

— Lexie MacPhie, TCSAR Volunteer since 2021

Timing

TCSAR is accepting applications from new recruits until January 31, 2025. 

From there, the team will review applications and conduct several rounds of interviews to narrow the pool of candidates to form a new class this spring/early summer. Once selected, new members will be probationary for a full year. During that first year, they complete at least 200 hours of training and demonstrate their ability to work well as a team.

How to apply

Applications are submitted through an online form. Click the button below to learn more about the process and to access the online application.

Challenge Accepted: TCSAR New Class Reaches Milestone

TCSAR’s new class team members reached a significant milestone on their journey to becoming fully operational volunteers. This week, they received their Challenge pins, signifying that they had each completed at least 200 hours of training since coming on board in May. Like all TCSAR volunteers, they will continue to train and practice avalanche rescue, heli- and snowmobile-assisted rescues, among other winter-related challenges over the next several months. 

Photo: Brook Yeomans

For the last several months, the new class members have taken on all kinds of different trainings, taking on each one with enthusiasm and smiles. It’s a lot of time and work behind the scenes, including by the instructors KC Bess and Anthony Stevens. On November 1, the new class members will be added to page call-outs during rescues, but won’t be considered ‘operational’ until April 2022.

But this moment is worth recognizing, and giving them kudos to a job well done.

Get to know the new class by clicking the link below.

Help TCSAR Outfit and Train the First New Class of Volunteers since 2015

From gear to training to wellness, supporting new SAR members builds on the team's future

Teton County Search and Rescue is excited to bring on 10 new volunteers to the team. But first, each new member must be equipped and trained to handle rescues in the Jackson Hole backcountry. For the next six months, each new member will attend roughly 18 training sessions, including Land Navigation, Swiftwater Rescue, Wilderness Medical Response, Avalanche Rescue, and Rigging for Rescue.

"Our goal with training the new class is to both build on the amazing skills they bring to the team and reframe their existing skill sets to a Search and Rescue mindset," says TCSAR volunteer KC Bess, who will help train the new class. "We plan on getting hands-on with the training using SAR-specific scenarios and techniques. Bringing them on board we hope to help them integrate as quickly and seamlessly as possible with the operational team."

Due to the cost associated with adding new SAR members, TCSAR Foundation is looking for community support. As with any new class, the new members stand to be the future of the team. It's the Foundation's goal to help set them up to maintain the legacy of excellence established by all those who have come before.

Help us bring on the new class. Who are they, you ask? We'll let you know next week!