TCSAR rescues injured skier in Yellowstone

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (KIFI) - Teton County Search & Rescue received an alert for an injured Nordic skier in the Fairy Falls area of Yellowstone National Park near Old Faithful on Wednesday, April 24. 

The 55-year-old woman and her partner had skied about a mile into the backcountry before an injury prevented them from continuing on their own. They issued an emergency call that was picked up by the Yellowstone Communications Center.

Park rangers from Yellowstone skied in to help the injured skier. Upon arrival, rangers requested helicopter assistance from TCSAR. Currently, TCSAR has the region's only SAR-dedicated helicopter, and although Yellowstone is not a regular location for TCSAR missions, the team has done rescues in the park when requested by park officials. 

TCSAR responded to this incident with a heli team consisting of three volunteers and a pilot, with an initial plan of doing a possible short-haul extraction. The team departed the hangar in Jackson at 3:36 p.m.

Flight time to the Fairy Falls area was about 30 minutes. The helicopter circled several times before spotting the injured party. After locating the patient, they landed the ship and were able to load the injured skier and partner into the helicopter. The team then flew the skiers to a landing zone on the Grand Loop Road inside the park, where they transferred the patient to a waiting ambulance.

Afterward, the team flew back to Jackson, completing the mission in 3 hours and 30 minutes.