Search & Rescue saves injured man after avalanche, and exhausted hikers from ridge line trail
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JACKSON, Wyoming — Search and Rescue teams in Teton County, Wyoming, saved multiple injured and ill people over the weekend as weather conditions warmed and outdoor adventures became more popular.
According to a post on the Teton County Search & Rescue Facebook page, TSCAR responded to two emergency calls over the weekend, saving a snowboarder after an avalanche and rescuing two hikers who had become exhausted and could not return to their starting point.
Around 2:45 p.m., a snowboarder reportedly suffered a severe leg injury after getting caught in an avalanche while he was descending on the Great White Hump, located north of Teton Pass.
TSCAR says this was the second time this month that a skier or snowboarder had been injured after getting caught in an avalanche in this same zone. EastIdahoNews.com reported on the first incident that occurred on April 4.
RELATED | Two people rescued after separate incidents near Teton Pass
TCSAR was able to load a short-haul team into a helicopter and made contact with the man about 54 minutes after the initial 911 call.
“Our team credits the patient’s group for providing interim care before the volunteers were on scene,” says TSCAR on the post.
TCSAR transported the man to an ambulance on Teton Pass, completing the rescue in 2 hours, 36 minutes.
“This incident is another reminder for skiers and snowboarders to be extra cautious during this transitional period in the Tetons, when snow conditions may change rapidly from hour to hour, day to day,” says TSCAR.
On Sunday, two hikers who had been attempting to walk from Cache Creek to the Game Creek Divide and then return via the Skyline trail called 911 after ascending the Game Creek Divide, stating they were too exhausted to continue, according to the post.
The hikers were told to begin walking back to the Cache/Game junction, where a team of volunteers would meet them.
Two TCSAR volunteers were dispatched in a side-by-side vehicle up Cache Creek. When they could not locate the party where they were supposed to meet, the volunteers hiked about a mile and a half up the trail, where they found the tired hikers.
The volunteers gave them food and water and assisted them back down the trail to the vehicle.