JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — An internal yearend review of Search and Rescue’s callouts reveals an elite group of volunteers whose services were in high demand in every season.
As of December 1, Teton County Search & Rescue responded to 103 calls for service. That’s just shy of the record year in 2017 when the team had 105 pageouts.
“Much of our increase in calls can be attributed to people flocking to our valley to find peace and relaxation in the mountains. Most of our rescues this past year were helping folks out when their adventure went wrong,” said chief advisor Cody Lockhart. “Things like bike wrecks, horse wrecks, and river wrecks were our most common rescues this summer. However, for our team, this past summer will be remembered as a time when folks went into the mountains but did not come back alive.”
TCSAR played significant roles in the search for Gabby Petito, as well as Bob Lowery and Jared Hembree—men who went into Jackson Hole backcountry but didn’t want to be found.
With the many success stories in 2021—missing people found, injured people patched up and delivered out of the backcountry—there were also horrible tragedies where members of the team confronted some of the worst realities of humanity, Lockhart said. The organization’s leader reflected on and recognized the emotional toll taken on by the volunteer teams and the importance of making sure TCSAR members get the mental health care they needed.
The 2021 End-of-Year Review and Rescue Report catalogued every rescue, every search, every operation teams were called out on, totaling some 17,579 hours—6,195 hours in rescue operations, 10,842 in training, 542 in community outreach.
Winter months continue to be the busy season for Search & Rescue but summer ’21 picked up considerably from years past with more and more people venturing into the woods.
