Avalanche Awareness Night, En Español, Coming Up On January 28

Jackson, Wyo. — For the first time, an avalanche awareness workshop is being held in Spanish in order to reach a broader demographic in Jackson Hole. Presented and organized by a diverse group of educators and backcountry safety advocates from Teton County Search & Rescue, Camina Conmingo, Coombs Outdoors, Exum, Jackson Hole Mountain Guides, and the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center, Noche de Concientización Sobre Avalanchas will take place from 6:00-8:30 p.m. on January 28, at the Virginian’s Wister Hall.

The goal of the event is to increase access to essential safety information for community members for whom Spanish is their preferred language. Based on TCSD #1 demographics, an estimated 40 percent of county residents have a home language other than English, and the majority of those are Spanish-speakers.

"Language access is one of the important first steps in ensuring that everyone in our community has the tools and knowledge they need to make informed decisions in the backcountry,” said Piper Worthington, a language access advocate and event co-coordinator. “This event will be educational, but also a celebration of local people and organizations who have changed the ways we think about who is represented in the outdoor industry."

Presenters will offer a dynamic line-up of content for backcountry users of all levels of experience and modalities, and for those who want to learn and be inspired by our local resources.

No registration required and attendance is free. All attendees get one free raffle ticket upon entry for the chance to win some great prizes at the conclusion of the event. For more information, visit BackcountryZero.com/events.

If you have questions about this event, please reach out to TCSAR Foundation Preventative SAR Manager Maddie Johnson: maddie@tetoncountysar.org.

PRESENTATION AGENDA

Avalanche Awareness: Christian Santelices, IFMGA/AMGA Certified Guide
State of the Snowpack: Laura Gaylord, Coombs Outdoors + Exum Mountain Guides
Emergency Response & First Aid: Ryan Mertaugh, Teton County Search & Rescue + JHMG
Backcountry Panel: Backcountry Program Participants, Coombs Outdoors
Keynote Speaker: Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada
Raffle

TCSAR Responds to Avalanche Fatality on Togwotee Pass

We are deeply saddened to report that a skier has died as a result of an avalanche on Togwotee Pass on Saturday, January 4, 2025. More details about the accident will emerge following an investigation by the Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center.

Just before noon on Saturday, Teton County Search & Rescue was called to respond to a known avalanche burial on Togwotee Pass. The emergency alert came in via iPhone satellite text-to-911, but it was unclear whether the avalanche involved snowmobilers or skiers. For anyone using this relatively new function, please include the nature of your emergency, mechanism of injury, and number of people in your party. Including that info can help first responders efficiently develop solutions to the problems.

Initial reports indicated that a group of four was in the Breccia Cliffs area when they triggered an avalanche. As TCSAR mobilized, the team learned that it was a party of four skiers who’d triggered the slide as they were ascending a skin track. The avalanche partially buried one skier and fully buried another. The partially buried skier sustained a lower leg injury.

TCSAR responded with teams in the helicopter, on snowmobiles, and on skis. The helicopter team lifted off but returned when weather conditions did not permit an air response. The snowmobile team was also unable to reach the party of skiers due to the challenging conditions.

A team of skiers from TCSAR approached the area on skins and were able to get on scene at approximately 3:47 p.m. They began to apply treatment to the injured skier and remaining members of the party. The volunteers also worked to begin recovering the deceased skier for transport out of the backcountry. The volunteers worked into the evening, skiing the injured skier out of the backcountry in a litter to a waiting ambulance from Grand Teton National Park. The team also skied the deceased skier out via a sked. This serves as an important reminder of how much longer a mission can take when the helicopter is grounded, and is another factor to consider in your backcountry planning should an accident occur.

TCSAR extends its most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased skier.

TCSAR Responds to Lost Snowmobilers in Whiteout Conditions

This post has been updated from an earlier version:

Teton County Search & Rescue volunteers, along with Togwotee Mountain Guides, were involved in a strenuous search yesterday evening, December 29, for four snowmobilers who’d become stuck and lost off trail on Togwotee Pass. The teams searched for the lost party during dangerous whiteout conditions, and eventually brought them out of the backcountry around midnight.

Whiteout conditions and darkness made Sunday’s rescue mission on Togwotee Pass very challenging. Photo: TCSAR

TCSAR wants to highlight the critical help provided by Togwotee Mountain Guides, who assisted the rescue effort even though the party in question was not part of their operation.

There were some hard lessons learned last night. We share these lessons to remind everyone to do the following: Make sure you are aware of the weather and the ability level of everyone in your party; if you become lost, stay together; and finally, do not leave your snowmobile and try to walk out.

TCSAR volunteers and Togwotee Mountain Guides respond to help four lost snowmobilers on Sunday, December 29, 2024. Photo: TCSAR

The call for help came at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday. The party consisted of two Jackson residents, male and female with previous backcountry experience, who rented two tandem sleds to take their visiting parents, who are in their 60s, out for an unguided snowmobile excursion on Togwotee Pass. They had a map on their phone of their intended route. However, the groomed trail they started on eventually became ungroomed, causing their sleds to get stuck. To call for help, the Jackson woman used her iPhone's satellite function to text a friend in town, and followed up with a text to 911 about an hour later to provide coordinates and trail location. The party then left their snowmobiles to attempt to walk out.

TCSAR arrived on Togwotee with a team of six snowmobilers. Battling whiteout conditions, the volunteers found the stranded rental sleds but not the people. The team then discovered a ping from the phone in another drainage. Togwotee guides responded into that drainage and located the lost party at about 10:30 p.m.

The team eventually transported the party out of the backcountry to safety by midnight, with volunteers making it home around 3 a.m. The volunteers reiterated their appreciation for the help from Togwotee Mountain Guides, and are glad the lost snowmobilers made it out of a scary situation.