JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Search and Rescue’s (TCSAR) short-haul operations have made up a little over 13 percent of rescues so far this winter, providing a “safer” option in the extreme geographic and weather conditions of the Tetons and surrounding areas.
According to TCSAR data shared with Buckrail, there have been 37 calls for service this season, between Dec. 1 and now; of those 37 calls, 12 have been helicopter missions, five of those helicopter missions have been short-hauls and seven were internal loading operations (meaning the helicopter landed and the patient was carried and loaded into the ship).
These numbers are slightly down from last year, which TCSAR confirms saw 11 short-haul operations and 12 internal loads.
A Feb. 28 TCSAR Facebook post explains short-haul as a method of rescue in which rescuers can be inserted or extracted via a length of rope connected to the belly of the helicopter. It’s a method that’s most often used to access patients who are injured in terrain that is too steep or rugged to land a helicopter, TCSAR writes, “an ideal operation in a place like the Tetons.”
The operation often includes two short-haulers, to access the scene and patient, and one spotter, who stays in the helicopter to help the pilot keep an eye on the short-haulers below and any obstacles that present a hazard to the helicopter.
“Where short haul really shines is when the topography is rugged or extreme, or the environmental conditions are dangerous,” TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart says.
Especially in winter, Lockhart tells Buckrail that short-haul operations can be less risky for TCSAR volunteers than other rescue alternatives, since it reduces the need to have volunteers traversing avalanche terrain on skis or snowmobiles, and reduces exposure time to adverse weather conditions. And even though Lockhart acknowledges short-haul and helicopter operations come with their own risk, he still confirms it’s generally the safer option when it’s possible.
“This job in general is not safe, we just try to mitigate the risks,” Lockhart says.
One way TCSAR mitigates for risk with short-haul operations is by training every week for short-haul rescues, year-round, a benefit of the organization now owning its own helicopter.
“It goes without saying that we could not do our job in Teton County without a helicopter,” Lockhart says.
Read more about recent short-haul missions here and here.
