Snowmobiler rescued after crash at Togwotee Pass
TETON COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — A 42-year-old snowmobiler is recovering this week following a high-stakes backcountry rescue on Friday, Jan. 2.
At 11:40 a.m., Teton County Dispatch received a Garmin SOS alert from a snowmobiling party. The group reported that a member of their party had crashed, injuring his leg. The injured man’s current condition has not been released.
Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) immediately mobilized a helicopter crew to the rugged pass. While the flight team arrived and airlifted him to an awaiting Jackson Hole Fire/EMS ambulance near Togwotee Mountain Lodge, three TCSAR volunteers remained behind in the field.
However, the weather took a turn for the worse, grounding the helicopter, leaving the three volunteers stranded in the field. To bring their teammates home, TCSAR’s snowmobile team launched a secondary mission, navigating a grueling 22-mile round trip through the backcountry to extract the remaining volunteers. All teams were out of the field by 6 p.m., completing the mission in 6 hours and 20 minutes, says TCSAR.
