The mountains called, and Teton County Search & Rescue answered, again and again. According to its just-released 2025 Midyear Review and Rescue Report, TCSAR clocked a whopping 64 calls for service between December 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, making it one of the busiest winters on record.
February topped the chart with 18 calls, while January and May tied for second with 13 apiece. March and April gave the team a brief breather… before things picked up again like a rogue snowstorm on Togwotee.
Here’s a breakdown of the big trends:
🟢 Lift-Assisted Mayhem: Skiers and snowboarders accounted for 27 calls, with two-thirds entering the backcountry via resort boundary gates. Many of these incidents were handled by local ski patrol, showing just how tightly TCSAR and our three ski resorts are working together.
🟡 Snowmobile Struggles: Snowmachiners weren’t far behind with 17 calls, including five all-nighters. Yep, volunteers pulled full shifts under the stars to bring folks home safely.
In the report, TCSAR Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart puts it bluntly:
“Heading out into a storm at night starts to feel normal, but it is not.” He adds, “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.”
Also in the report:
• Call-by-call incident recaps
• Graphs showing backcountry accident trends
• Tips on using iPhone’s satellite text-to-911 feature
• Safety lessons and outreach efforts from the past six months
Want the full story? You can download the full Rescue Report at TetonCountySAR.org.
And if you see a TCSAR volunteer around town, maybe buy them a coffee. Or a headlamp.
