TCSAR Flies with RECCO SAR Helicopter Detector

Volunteer team is just one of four organizations in the U.S. to operate the heli-based search system

Over the years, Teton County Search and Rescue has consistently sought ways to evolve its programs and find the latest and greatest advancements in search technology. The team recently got a boost in this area by obtaining the RECCO SAR Helicopter Detector. TCSAR is now just one of four teams in the U.S. to utilize the system, which allows a helicopter to swiftly search a large area for a RECCO tab on someone’s person or even pick up incidental electronics.

The RECCO SAR Helicopter Detector in action during a recent TCSAR training mission. Photo: TCSAR

Many backcountry users are familiar with RECCO, a Swedish company founded in 1983 that makes small passive transponders that are picked up by a RECCO detector. Over the years, more than 125 outdoor brands—such as Arc’teryx, Patagonia, Salomon, and Atomic—have included these small RECCO reflectors in their products. Many brands are now including the system in summer and fall products, like bike helmets, to make it relevant year-round.

It’s important to note that the reflectors do not take the place of an operating avalanche beacon. The reflectors are passive, so there is no reciprocal search function or other use by the owner. It simply allows someone to be found with a corresponding RECCO detector. Most commonly, ski patrols across the world use hand-held detectors to conduct searches. 

Where TCSAR gets a lift with the SAR Helicopter Detector is in how much ground it can cover in a short amount of time during a search. The detector looks like a 174-pound drum and hangs 15 meters (about 49 feet) below the helicopter. Flying 300 feet above the ground at 60 mph, the detector scans 600 square feet every second. 

“One of the ideal applications would be during an inbounds avalanche with multiple burials where it’s assumed that not everyone is wearing an avalanche beacon,” says TCSAR Chief
Advisor Cody Lockhart. Because the drum can pick up incidental electronics, it could also be used to search a large wilderness area, such as the Gros Ventre during hunting season or Cache Creek during bike season.

The RECCO SAR Helicopter Detector is extremely accurate and swiftly covers an enormous area. PHOTO: TCSAR

“It operates like a grid pattern, essentially searching an entire football field at a time, till we get that signal hit,” says TCSAR pilot Steve Wilson. “Then you do a fine grid search. It’s extremely accurate.”

The SAR Heli Detector is one of three helicopter-mounted search mechanisms used by TCSAR. The team also uses a heli beacon, which can pick up avalanche transceivers and is often used to search debris piles after a slide in the backcountry, and there’s Lifeseeker, an aerial cellular transmitter that can locate mobile phone signals even when there’s no cell service.

The particulars of the incident on the ground will determine which tool the team uses. But it helps the team and community to have so many search options available. Thanks to RECCO for supplying the system and for the partnership.

The Fine Line kicks off Season 5 with Night Rescue in Phillips Canyon

Podcast from Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation continues with stories of adventure, risk and rescue in the Jackson Hole backcountry. New episode to be released on November 5.

On the evening of September 5, Hannah Bruch and Stuart Schiff, both 31, set out on their mountain bikes to ride the Phillips Canyon trail on Teton Pass. Though Bruch, a physician assistant from Denver, was in her first season of mountain biking, she’d already ridden Phillips Canyon twice during the summer. With her skills progressing, she was determined to ride across the three log bridges that are characteristic of this trail, rated by Trailforks as a “black diamond” due to its various technical features. Schiff, an experienced biker who lives in Jackson, parked his truck at the bottom of the trail at Fish Creek Road, and they left Bruch’s car at the Phillips Bench.

Bruch cleared the first bridge. But on the second, she lost her balance and tumbled off the side, dropping more than four feet directly onto a stump in the creek. The accident left her soaked, in severe pain and unable to walk with about four miles separating her from either trailhead. The sun was going down, they didn’t have headlamps or spare clothing, and Bruch’s began showing signs of hypothermia.

An evening ride that turned into a long night. Thanks to Hannah and Stuart for sharing their story with The Fine Line. Photo: TCSAR

With just a sliver of mobile service, Schiff dialed 911, which forwarded the call to Teton County Search and Rescue. Team member Anthony Stevens, a Wilson resident, had just put his three kids to bed when he got the call. He quickly grabbed his gear, drove to the bottom of the Phillips trail, and began running up as darkness enveloped the canyon.

The story of Bruch’s accident, the lessons she and Schiff learned, and Stevens’ rapid response is the subject of the newest episode of The Fine Line, the podcast produced by Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation. The episode airs at 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, on KHOL 89.1 FM, and afterward can be streamed through Apple and Soundcloud. 

“Night Rescue in Phillips Canyon” is the 30th episode of The Fine Line and marks the beginning of the podcast’s fifth season. Developed by the TCSAR Foundation to share stories of adventure, risk and rescue in the Jackson Hole backcountry, the podcast continues to examine recent rescues, like this summer’s harrowing crevasse fall in Grand Teton National Park. But it will also dive into prominent themes within the SAR world, such as how young people are exploring the backcountry during the Covid era and how professionals and recreationalists cope with stress trauma after tragedy. The goal of the podcast is to raise awareness about backcountry safety by sharing personal stories from those who have been impacted by accidents. All episodes can be found at Backcountry Zero, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Buckle Up: Two TCSAR Members Recognized for Serving on the Team for 20 years

Each year, TCSAR recognizes its members who’ve passed the 5-, 10-, and 20-year marks by handing out limited-edition TCSAR belt buckles. There are two members who this year crossed the hallowed 20-year threshold: Carol Viau and Chris Stiehl, both of whom joined the team in the same class of 2000. There are only a handful of members who have been on the team longer: Tim Ciocarlan, Mike Moyer, and Mike Estes go back to the team’s founding in 1993, while Jenn Sparks joined in 1998. As a small gesture of honoring Viau and Stiehl’s commitment, we wanted to make sure you know who they are and why they continue to show up and give back. Together, they offer a unique perspective into how TCSAR as well as Jackson Hole has evolved and changed over the years.

Carol Viau and Chris Stiehl show off their fresh new TCSAR buckles. Thanks for all your hard work, sacrafice and dedication! Photo: TCSAR

The year 2000 was a big one for Carol Viau. After moving to Jackson from Layton, Utah, first in 1988, then returning in the early ’90s, she spent several years doing mostly seasonal work. This included ski instructing, construction, and waiting tables in Jackson, as well as commercial fishing and working for a heli ski company in Alaska, and spending a winter in Chamonix. But in Y2K, she started putting down roots, and got an office job. Then, she saw an ad in the paper that Teton County Search and Rescue was looking for new volunteers. She applied, went through training, and has been on the team ever since. 

“I remember asking my boss to have a certain schedule so that I could waitress in the evenings, and possibly leave the office to go on rescues,” she says. 

“On the best thing to happen to Jackson in the last 20 years:

”You can finally buy a good baguette in town.””

Her first rescue was a search for a hunter who’d been injured after falling off his horse near Bryan Flats south of town. As the team combed a ridgeline in the dark, she made a loud whistle, to which the hunter and his guide responded with a gun blast. When they approached the injured party, Carol saw the two men sitting next to a campfire. But in the flickering light of the flames, she was confused to see two legs hanging from one of the horses. The legs turned out to be prosthetics belonging to the injured hunter. A double amputee, he’d lost his legs in a farming accident after falling into a grain silo. When Carol asked him what his pain level was, he responded, “Not as bad as when I lost my legs.” The team loaded the large man into the wheeled litter, and trudged through the night. As Carol describes it, “We basically carried him through deep, slippery muck for hours and hours over a thousand downed logs.” 

The team got the man to an ambulance at 3 a.m. Exhausted, Carol drove home but still made it to work the next day, on time, at 7:15 a.m.

Carol Viau, in the early days of her TCSAR career. Photo: TCSAR

 On how things have changed at TCSAR:

 We used to meet in the County Commissioner chambers. Sometimes, the chambers would be full, and so we’d go to the Brew Pub and meet there. 

On why she has stayed on:

I like problem solving, and each rescue is a little bit different. Sometimes it’s straightforward and you see similarities. But it’s interesting to see the ways in which people get stuck and how you’re going to get them out. It’s definitely sent me to places in the county where I’d never been before, and a lot of times it’s not on a trail.

On the physical demands of being a SAR Volunteer:

After that first rescue, I thought, ‘Holy crap, that was exhausting. But that was awesome!’ It really opened my eyes to how physically hard this job can be.

On the hardest part about being a volunteer:

Having to choose between making money to pay my bills and going to help someone else. I like to joke that if I didn’t join SAR, maybe I’d be in a market home instead of an affordable home.

On finding balance:

My partner has been very supportive. He has a great understanding of how important SAR is to me. If we get a call-out, he’ll make me some food really quick or some hot tea for me to take. Now, the balance is figuring out a job that’s flexible so I can go out on rescues, as well as not be exposed to the coronavirus. The person I care for is elderly and can’t be exposed to the virus, and my mom is in assisted living and I want to be able to go visit her.

On something most people don’t know about SAR:

People look at it as this exciting thing, but maybe they don’t realize the toll it can take on some rescuers. If you join SAR, you’re going to see dead bodies, and a lot of times there will be physical trauma involved. Some people deal with it better than others, and I try not to judge. There will be times we have a fatality and we have to package the patient or victim, and if there’s enough of us, I’ll say, ‘If anyone doesn’t want to see this, you can step back.’ And sometimes that happens. I’ve tried to offer that to my teammates.

On the best thing to happen to Jackson in the last 20 years:

You can finally buy a good baguette in town.

On the best thing to happen to TCSAR in the last 20 years:

I never thought we’d have our own building or Foundation. We have a lot of equipment, support, and we have a place to meet. Not that it was bad before and I didn’t mind it, but we have a lot more resources now. Which is good because of the simultaneous increase in call-outs. If we didn’t have the resources, we wouldn’t be able to handle it. The burn-out rate would be really high and the team would not be nearly as efficient.

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Chris Stiehl (right) calls Ray Shriver (left) one of his most important mentors. Shriver passed away tragically while on a TCSAR mission in 2012. Photo: TCSAR

Chris Stiehl moved to Jackson in 1997 after graduating from Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Virginia. He planned to stay for two years. While working at Plaza Liquors, he heard that Jackson Hole Fire/EMS was giving away free hot dogs as part of a public awareness campaign. As every 22-year-old ski bum knows, you let no free hot dog go by. The meeting propelled him to get his EMT, and he began volunteering to drive the ambulance. A few years later, in 2000, he applied for Teton County Search and Rescue. Today, he’s a fire captain, paramedic, husband, and father of two.

On why he joined TCSAR:

It seemed fun. You get to go do cool stuff, get trained, and helping other people was something that had an appeal to it. 

On what makes a good SAR volunteer: 

People assume it’s a collection of skill sets of a high level recreator. But it’s not. Nobody is ready to go right out of the gate because they are a climber, kayaker, or backcountry skier. The unexpected part is whether or not you are available. If you have a schedule to drop what you’re doing and respond, that’s a major asset.

Another big piece is if you fit into a team. It’s not a cool kids club. If you’re a jerk, you’re not going to be the best asset.

You also have to have an eagerness and humility to learn new things, and be able to accept mentoring and guidance.

On who influenced him:

Mike Moyer was always out ahead of me. He’s an OG on the SAR team, and a longtime high level medical provider in the valley. He showed me that doing frontcountry medicine is fun and rewarding, but taking those skills and applying it to backcountry conditions is about as rewarding as it gets to the way I’m wired. Also, Tim Ciocarlan and Ray Shriver were very important to our class of volunteers.

On finding balance:

Having a super supportive spouse has been the cornerstone of my success. Beyond that, the team feels as committed to me as I’m committed to them. As my participation ebbed and flowed due to work or family, I put pressure on myself but I never felt like I was on thin ice. It’s helped that the industry of SAR has evolved, allowing for better risk mitigation strategies, which has kept it interesting and exciting. Plus, you don’t just learn something once. You have to continue to get better.

On how TCSAR has changed over the years: 

We’re better able to support volunteers. We have better gear, and provide mental health and childcare support. Jet boats weren’t a thing when I joined the team. RZRs are new now, and, of course, the helicopter, which has changed the way we respond. It’s for the better, but I’m always cautious of having an over-reliance on technology. You still have to do the ground work.

On the best thing to happen to Jackson in the last 20 years:

The opening of the backcountry gates at Teton Village. It seemed like all the adults got in the room and said, ‘This is the right thing to do.’

On what most people don’t know about SAR:

The risk they impose on rescuers when they go out unprepared. If you need help, we don’t have the luxury of not going. Maybe we’re not going tonight, maybe the risk is too high for right now, but sooner or later, we’re dropping everything and we’re going to come.

 On keeping with it:

It’s a great family of rescuers to be part of. At this point, I might have some hard-earned wisdom to offer the next generation of folks. But I still want to be able to give back to a pretty awesome community and a really great team.