New Episode from The Fine Line: Youth in the Backcountry

In the next episode of The Fine Line, three local teenagers discuss their experiences in the backcountry: their influences and aspirations, lessons they've learned about safety, and how they've gotten through the challenges of the past year.

Clockwise from top: Zack Little, Sorayah Ziem, and Ryan Millham.

This next episode goes live on March 25. Here's a snippet of their conversation.

"When I tell my classmates and friends that I'm going out in the park for seven hours and I'm going to go skin up a mountain, they're like, 'Dude, have you lost your mind?' And I'm like, possibly...But I have to say, skiing down is really magical." —Sorayah Ziem, 13

"The fact that I am starting to be able to go to school and the fact that I am able to go into the backcountry when I feel like I need a break from college (applications), homework, teachers, drama, all that, Covid has really shown how fortunate I am to be where I am." —Ryan Millham, 17

"When I transition from skiing with a person that's more experienced than I am on Saturday to skiing with a friend who's maybe less experienced than I am on Sunday, my mindset has to change. And I think a big part of that is building trust with partners over time. That's what's kinda crazy about social media these days is I've noticed people acting like they know somebody purely off of their interactions on social media." —Zack Little, 19

Thanks to Sorayah, Ryan, and Zack for this excellent conversation, and helping the rest of us understand how we can better reach young people about backcountry safety.

Subscribe to The Fine Line on Spotify, Apple, and SoundCloud, and tune in every Thursday at 2 p.m. to hear it on KHOL 89.1 FM.

By the Numbers: TCSAR's Busy Winter

TCSAR’s helicopter has been used more this winter than ever before. This photo, by volunteer Keegan Pfeil, was taken during a short-haul training session in the Tetons in January 2021.

Nearly everyday for two weeks straight in February, TCSAR was getting calls from people who needed help in the backcountry. That 14-day stretch included a nine-hour mission to rescue two stuck snowmobilers in the middle of the night; three avalanche deaths; two callouts to help snowmobilers with life-threatening injuries; and a helicopter assist in Park County, Wyo., to rescue eight stranded snowmobilers on Beartooth Pass. That was the second heli assist in Park County this winter, with the helicopter also responding to incidents in neighboring Lincoln and Fremont counties.

By the Numbers:

28: times the team was called all last winter.

38: times the team has been called just since January 1.

4: number of helicopter missions last winter.

15: number of helicopter missions this winter.

This all occurred, of course, while the pandemic continued to prevent the team from doing full group trainings. That the volunteers responded with such professionalism demonstrates each team member's commitment and resolve to help those in need.

With the team now fully vaccinated, members have gone back to team training, a full year after such meetings were postponed or outright canceled. The simple act of getting together for a team dinner on March 10 offered a time for reflection, appreciation and gratitude.

Due to the pandemic, a full year went by before TCSAR was able to get together for a full team group training, at Snow King on March 13. Photo: Will Smith/TCSAR

New episode of The Fine Line: Avalanche on Taylor Mountain

It’s human nature for all of us to want to prove ourselves. But in the backcountry, where margins for error in avalanche terrain can be razor thin, this can be a dangerous path—for experts, beginners, and everyone in between.

In the latest two-part episode of The Fine Line podcast, Jackson snowboarder Anna Meteyer confronts these and other complexities from April 1, 2020, when she lost her friend and touring partner Trace Carrillo in an avalanche on Teton Pass, Wyo. Meanwhile, TCSAR volunteer Jennifer Sparks talks about how psychological first aid has become a priority for first responders in Teton County.

Aerial drone photo by Will Smith/TCSAR.

With this incident playing out during the height of uncertainty at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it generated national headlines and caused a stir among backcountry users in the Jackson Hole area. Though the accident seems straightforward at first glance, Meteyer shares how painfully complicated it was that day and for many days afterward, and reveals lessons that all backcountry users should take to heart.

Thank you to Meteyer for sharing her story, and to Carrillo's family and friends for supporting backcountry safety in his name through a scholarship fund at the University of Utah.

Subscribe to The Fine Line on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and SoundCloud, and listen to it every Thursday at 2 p.m. on KHOL 89.1 FM.