Hiker Rescued From Grand Teton
Grand Teton National Park rangers rescued a 28-year-old climber after he became stranded near the top of the Grand Stand below the North Face of the Grand Teton just before dark on Friday.
Jesse Selwyn, of Florence, Mont,. and his climbing partner intended to climb the Black Ice Couloir on the northwest side of the Grand Teton.
Selwyn and his companion could not find the entrance to the Black Ice Couloir and got off-route.
They ended up on the Grand Stand instead, a common route finding mistake. At 4:55 p.m., the Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received notification from the Teton County Sheriff’s office that an individual had activated a SPOT rescue locator somewhere on the Grand Teton.
Rangers requested a Teton Interagency helicopter to conduct a reconnaissance flight to assess the situation.
A ranger inside the helicopter used a white board with the words “OK?” written on it to ask the climbers if they were all right.
The climbers gave a thumbs down sign, so rangers responded by writing the word “rescue?” and the climbers gave a thumbs up, indicating they were in trouble and needed help.
Based on the climbers’ location, rangers flew inside the helicopter to a landing zone on the west side of Teewinot Mountain. From there, one ranger was inserted via short-haul to Selwyn’s location just after 8 p.m.
Once on scene, the ranger prepared Selwyn for a short-haul evacuation off the mountain to the Lupine Meadows rescue cache on the valley floor. Selwyn was uninjured and released soon after landing.
