JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) released its Midyear Review and Rescue Report on Wednesday, July 2. The report includes recaps of service calls, a deep dive into overnight snowmobile rescues, backcountry safety highlights and graphs and statistics that reflect accident trends.
The report, available in print and digital form, strives to show the critical service provided by TCSAR volunteers and push awareness for improving backcountry safety. TCSAR releases two reports per year, and this one covers all rescues between December 1, 2024 and May 31, 2025.
During that time period, TCSAR received 64 calls for service. Prior to 2021, when annual calls started to increase, that was a typical volume of calls seen over an entire year. The report breaks down all of the calls so far this year by month, demographics, location and sport.
TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart wrote in the report’s foreword: “Whenever I can step back and get some perspective on the TCSAR Team, I am amazed that an ordinary group of community volunteers are able to come together, risk their lives and go into the mountains to save people they’ve never met.”
Out of the last six months, February was the busiest with 18 calls, and January had 13. During the winter, 27 calls came from backcountry skiers and snowboarders, more than any other group, 18 of which accessed the backcountry from a resort boundary gate. Many of those 18 incidents were handled by local ski patrol, which goes to show the strong partnership TCSAR has with the three local ski areas.
According to the report, this winter saw 17 calls for service from snowmobilers. The major thread through the winter was snowmobile rescues that turned into all-night ordeals. Five times, between December and March, the TCSAR team responded to stuck or stranded snowmachiners late in the day and continued operations overnight.
“The helicopter is the great equalizer,” Lockhart said in the report. “If you have a helicopter, you don’t have to be an expert skier to rescue a skier, or be an expert snowmobiler if you are rescuing a snowmobiler. But the helicopter can’t fly at night. And so this winter was the exception to that rule. If we don’t have access to the helicopter, we have to have the on-the-ground technical skills to get the job done.”
The report also includes rescues from the beginning of the summer season. TCSAR had its busiest May on record, with 13 calls for service, which included multiple mountain bike and swiftwater rescues.
The release of the report comes amid two major projects that TCSAR is working on: onboarding a new class of 10 volunteer rescuers and planning to host the annual International Commission for Alpine Rescue (ICAR) Congress, which will happen in Jackson this October. TCSAR will host the weeklong event and welcome 140 search and rescue teams from 47 countries.
The Midyear Review and Rescue Report is free to view online at TCSAR’s website.
