At around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21, Teton County Search & Rescue was dispatched regarding an injured skier in the Grand Targhee, Wyoming, backcountry.
The skier, a 27-year-old male from Washington, sustained injuries after falling off a cornice in an out-of-bounds area accessed off Mary’s Nipple from Grand Targhee Ski Resort. The skier was on a ridgeline when the cornice broke beneath him, causing him to fall approximately 100 feet into the basin below.
Coordinating with Grand Targhee Ski Patrol, TCSAR dispatched a team of volunteers in the SAR helicopter to the accident site. Ski patrol reached the patient first, provided initial care, and packaged him for helicopter transport. TCSAR then short-hauled the man—a method in which rescuers and patient are long-lined beneath the helicopter—to a waiting ambulance at the base of Targhee.
TCSAR appreciates the well-coordinated response from Grand Targhee Ski Patrol and would like to remind backcountry users to be extremely cautious of cornices while approaching or traversing ridgelines.
