JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Search and Rescue received the fewest call-outs this winter and spring than ever in its 27-year history.

TSCAR released its Midyear Review and Rescue Report today, which accounts for calls and rescues between December 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020. During those six months, there were 31 total calls from emergency dispatch that were routed to TSCAR, compared to 58 from the same period last year. Of those calls, 18 resulted in a rescue. Eight rescues were helicopter operations, including four short-hauls that helped extract injured people from unsafe situations.

There was one fatality in the TCSAR response area, which is the fewest since the winter of 2010.

The summaries of these 18 call-outs are just one of the highlights in the 2020 Midyear Review and Rescue Report, a biannual portfolio produced by the Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation that tracks rescues, missions, training, educational projects, community outreach, and events.

In addressing the relative calm rescue period, team volunteer Stephanie Thomas, who is also the executive director of the TCSAR Foundation, explained: “We are hopeful that prevention education through Backcountry Zero has helped our community be more prepared and practiced for adventuring in the Tetons, but our team continues to train to be ready to respond when accidents happen.”

Though there were fewer calls during the winter and spring, there has been a steady increase since June 1. The team has responded to a half dozen accidents already this summer.

The 2020 Midyear Review and Report includes:

  • Breakdown of incidents by numerous metrics (including gender, day of the week, and activity), as well as 10-year trends
  • How the team and Foundation are navigating COVID-19
  • Profiles of three TCSAR volunteers (Jenn Sparks, Carol Viau, and Chris Stiehl) who’ve been on the team for 20-plus years
  • Complete list of Heli-Yes donors
  • Snapshot of results from the Foundation’s ongoing Backcountry Survey program at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, one of the few organized efforts in the U.S. to establish a database of trends in resort-accessed backcountry skiing/snowboarding.

Download the 2020 Mid-Year Report here.