TCSAR Featured in 25th Anniversary of Jackson Hole Magazine

Written up as “one of the busiest and best mountain SAR teams in the country,” Teton County Search and Rescue gets a lot of ink in a feature-length article in the Winter 2020 issue of Jackson Hole magazine. The story on TCSAR leads a feature well that also includes a look at Yellowstone National Park 25 years after wolves were introduced, and a collection of profiles on valley locals. Jackson Hole looks at TCSAR’s deep commitment to saving lives, team member profiles, SAR gear, and the team’s dedication to education and community outreach.

Read the entire feature here.

TCSAR showcased in Jackson Hole Magazine.

2019 Rescue Report Details Busy Year for TCSAR

As detailed in the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation’s recently released 2019 End-of-Year Rescue Report, Teton County’s all-volunteer Search and Rescue team spent nearly 13,000 hours on SAR-related activities, added two months of helicopter service that helped save several people’s lives, and saw members of the public utilize the BackcountrySOS digital app to effectively reach emergency responders to prevent tragic consequences.

It all added up to 2019 being a very busy year for Teton County Search and Rescue. 

“I cannot express how proud the team is when their involvement on a rescue results in saving someone's life and keeping a family together,” says TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart, who joined the team as a volunteer in 2010. “That is why we volunteer, and we could not do our job without the support of the community.”

A SAR team member dives into the Snake River during swiftwater training exercises. Photo: KC Bess

The Rescue Report is released by the nonprofit Foundation on a bi-annual basis. The year-end report includes data and stats on all the rescues performed in the past year in Teton County, and shows how busy the team has been with rescues, training, and community events. From responding to numerous incidents in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry last February, to repeated ATV accidents on the Gros Ventre Road in August, the team was called to action on a wide variety of scenarios requiring different skill sets. 

The report includes briefs on all the rescues performed from June 1 to November 30, 2019 (those from December 1, 2018, to May 31, 2019, are detailed in the Mid-Year Rescue Report released in June). It also highlights the effectiveness of the community’s Heli-Yes campaign, which expanded TCSAR’s helicopter service, and the BackcountrySOS digital app. Released by the Foundation in 2018, the app helped members of the public save lives in 2019 by directly reaching emergency dispatch when cellular service was lacking in the backcountry. The app can be downloaded for free at BackcountrySOS.

Print copies of the Rescue Reports are free and can be found at participating businesses all over Teton County, or downloaded by clicking this link at TetonCountySAR.org.

"Rescue on the Reef" recounts tense winter accident on Teton Pass

On February 20, 2018, IFMGA-certified mountain guide Paul Rachele was trying to set up a winter climbing route on a sharp crag off Teton Pass called The Reef. As he was setting the final anchor on this uncommon, infrequently climbed cliffband, he ran out of rope and fell 100 feet, sustaining numerous severe injuries. Alone and unable to walk, his call for help set in motion a rapid response as rescuers raced against the clock to get him to safety before nightfall.

Mountain guide Paul Rachele (middle) with TCSAR members Phillip Fox (left) and Alex St. Clair at the KHOL radio studios in Jackson, Wyo. Photo: TCSAR Foundation

The accident is the focus on the latest episode of “The Fine Line,” the podcast produced by Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation and Backcountry Zero. For this episode, podcast host Rebecca Huntington sits down with Rachele and responding TCSAR members Phillip Fox and Alex St. Clair. Fox and St. Clair came into TCSAR in the same 2015 class. On this incident, Fox was on short-haul while St. Clair was lead medic on the ground.

During the podcast, Rachele is eloquent in his descriptions of winter climbing and in explaining why he is drawn to The Reef, even to this day despite his troubled history on this particular rock. Meanwhile, Fox and St. Clair articulate the ins and outs of a hasty rescue operation where everything had to be perfect—or else face a much more dire outcome.

This episode can be heard now at BackcountryZero.com, via Soundcloud or iTunes, or wherever you get your podcasts.