TOGWOTEE PASS, Wyo. — On Sunday, Dec. 29, Teton County Search & Rescue (TCSAR) volunteers and Togwotee Mountain Guides were involved in what TCSAR is calling “a strenuous search” for four snowmobilers stuck and lost off trail on Togwotee Pass.
According to a Monday, Dec. 30, TCSAR Facebook post, the call for help came at 3:40 p.m. with sparse details from an iPhone’s satellite function to text a friend in town. The party consisted of two Jackson residents, male and female, who rented two tandem sleds to take their visiting parents in their early 70s out for an unguided snowmobile excursion on Togwotee Pass.
The group ended up going off trail, which TCSAR confirms the rental sleds were not designed to do. The party then left their snowmobiles to attempt to walk out.
TCSAR arrived on Togwotee with a team of six snowmobilers and “only a vague idea of the lost party’s location. Battling whiteout conditions, the volunteers eventually found the stranded rental sleds but not the people. The team then discovered a ping from the phone in another drainage. Togwotee guides responded into that drainage and located the lost party at about 10:30 p.m.”
TCSAR notes on the Facebook post that the teams searched for the lost party during dangerous whiteout conditions. They eventually brought them out of the backcountry around midnight. Volunteers made it home around 3 a.m.
TCSAR’s post also highlights the “critical help” provided by Togwotee Mountain Guides, who assisted the rescue effort even though the party in question was not part of their operation.
“There were some hard lessons learned last night,” TCSAR writes.
TCSAR reminds all recreationists of the following:
- Make sure to be aware of the weather and ability levels when heading out on a backcountry adventure
- If there is an emergency, call or text 911 (or use the BackcountrySOS app), which allows dispatch to know exact locations
- If lost, stay together
- Do not leave snowmobiles and try to walk out
TCSAR is also currently looking for new volunteers in 2025.
