JACKSON, Wyo. — According to a press release from Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation, Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) and Star Valley Search and Rescue (SVSAR) partnered to short-haul a hiker out of the backcountry who had become cliffed out in extreme terrain east of Afton, Wyoming, on June 14.
The call came in just after 7 p.m. Wednesday. SVSAR reported that a woman became disoriented in fog at high elevations earlier in the day and then followed the wrong ridgeline until steep terrain and deadfall left her unable to continue.
SVSAR volunteers responded on dirt bikes to a nearby position and hiked several miles to her. Once they considered the situation they decided to call TCSAR for helicopter assistance.
TCSAR dispatched a short-haul heli team to the location and a second ground team drove down as backup. By 8:55 p.m. the heli team had short-hauled her to the valley floor and were able to fly back to Jckson without ground assistance, landing just five minutes before dark.
The woman did not need medical care and expressed her gratitude to all the responders.
TCSAR recently raised enough funding to secure a year-round helicopter for rescue missions.
