AMPL and TCSAR Foundation Partner to Install New Beacon Checker Stations at Popular Trailheads

Ten new beacon checker stations help snow riders be better prepared for backcountry adventures.

Jackson, Wyo. — Backcountry users now have access to 10 additional avalanche beacon checker stations thanks to a partnership between AMPL and Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation. Several of the new stations provide safety messaging and infrastructure to areas frequented by snowmobilers. The new stations are located at the following trailheads: Coal Creek, Phillips Bench, Mosquito Creek, North Fork Fall Creek, Dog Creek/Pritchard, Cliff Creek, Brush Creek (Toppings Lake), with another three going up on Togwotee Pass, including top of Togwotee, Breccia Cliffs access, and Angle Mountain access.

Will Mook from AMPL demonstrates the new beacon checker station at Mosquito Creek. Photo: TCSAR Foundation

The process started two years ago when AMPL raised the funds to purchase five beacon checker stations. TCSAR Foundation, through its Backcountry Zero initiative, helped raise money for additional stations from a local men’s group alongside the Stephen P. Adamson, Jr., Memorial Fund.

“AMPL's goal of installing beacon checkers was to promote safe, responsible recreation by bringing avalanche awareness to popular trailheads around the county,” said Will Mook, Executive Director of AMPL. “Beacon checkers serve as a great reminder that the terrain accessible from these trailheads can be consequential avalanche terrain, and users should be prepared before leaving the parking lot. If these signs save just one life, they will have been worth the investment.”

Each station includes a QR code directly to the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center forecast, a checklist for proper safety equipment, and prompts to consider the consequences of your decisions. They also include a flashing indicator that shows whether your avalanche beacon is transmitting.

The green circle indicates that your avalanche beacon is properly transmitting. Photo: TCSAR Foundation

“The beacon checkers are an amazing resource, both to answer the ‘are you beeping question’ and to visually remind people that this is something to stop and think about before heading out,” said Liz King, Associate Director for TCSAR Foundation. “While they don’t replace a proper transceiver check with your partners, these units will help ensure no one enters the backcountry without a transmitting beacon.”







TCSAR Responds to Stuck Snowmobilers in Gros Ventre Mountains

Jackson, Wyo. — On Monday afternoon, February 13, TCSAR received its fifth rescue call in five days. The latest incident concerned a group of five snowmobilers from out of town who were stuck in the Slate Creek area of the Gros Ventre Mountains. The men, all between the ages of 60-80 years old, started out from a guest ranch on the east side of Togwotee Pass and rode their snowmobiles into the Continental Divide Trail system. After entering the Slate Creek area, the men went down a hill where four of their five sleds became stuck. They managed to get an emergency call out on a cell phone, which initiated a response by TCSAR.

TCSAR volunteers helped five snowmobilers get unstuck and safely out of the Gros Ventre Mountains on Monday, February 13. Photo: TCSAR

Four TCSAR volunteers dispatched on snowmobiles at Atherton Creek and drove up the Gros Ventre Road. They then crossed the ice-covered river and found the men a short distance above Slate Creek, about 10 miles from their starting point at Atherton. The men were uninjured but getting tired. They had one shovel but no avalanche safety gear. The men were driving trail sleds that were not designed to handle deep snow. TCSAR volunteers helped the men get their sleds unstuck and back up a hill to more manageable terrain. The volunteers then led the men and all snowmobiles back to Atherton Creek, where a TCSAR team member shuttled the men to Jackson and helped them find a place to stay for the night.

The volunteers returned to the TCSAR hangar, debriefed, and readied the equipment for the next mission, completing the call in 5 hours, 42 minutes.