At approximately 5:15 p.m. on Friday, May 29, Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received an emergency call reporting an injured hiker near Amphitheater Lake in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Buckrail reports that Teton County Search and Rescue dispatched a helicopter to rescue the injured hiker who had fallen and slid roughly 400 feet when out hiking near the lake with three other individuals.
According to Buckrail:
“Four individuals were hiking to Amphitheater Lake when they became hiking off route. As they traveled along the ridgeline north of Surprise Lake, Alex Curry, 20, of Scottsdale, Arizona, slipped on snow and fell over 400 vertical feet. He fell into Glacier Gulch and landed near the shore of Delta Lake where he sustained significant injuries. The other three members of the hiking party down climbed to Curry and called 911 communicating their location as Amphitheater Lake.”
When the helicopter arrived at Amphitheater Lake rescue teams discovered that the hikers were actually located at a different lake in the area called Delta Lake, which didn’t have any safe landing zones for the helicopter.
The injured hiker was short-hauled to Lupine Meadows and transported by a park ambulance to St. John’s Health Center. His condition is currently unknown.
The remaining hikers were safely led by a ranger to Lupine Meadows, arriving at about 9 p.m. Friday night.
Many hiking areas inside of Teton National Park still hold snow and ice and are subject to inclement weather. Navigational skills, knowledge of the area, and proper gear such as ice axes and crampons are advised when hiking in areas where disorientation or injury could occur.
