Back country skier killed in Grand Teton fall

Grand Teton National Park rangers have recovered the body of a back country mountaineer on the south aspect of the South Teton. The skier, identified as John “Jack” Fields, Jr., 26, of Jackson was found at approximately 6 p.m. at the bottom of a couloir. Fields fell in the area of the Amore Vida Couloir on an outing with three other skiers. They reported his fall at around 11 a.m. Wednesday after Fields failed to to respond to them via his radio. A Teton County Search and Rescue helicopter conducted an aerial search of the area and visually located the man. Three park rangers on board the helicopter were flown to Snowdrift Lake and skied and hiked in to the scene. Fields was pronounced dead at the scene when rangers reached him at around 1:45 p.m. They said he died of injuries sustained in the fall. His body was removed by helicopter and turned over to the Teton County Coroner’s Office. The three remaining skiers in the party waited for snow conditions to improve before ascending back to the summit of the South Teton, then coming down through Garnet Canyon. They arrived safely at the Taggart Lake Trailhead at 10:30 p.m.