Ailing Climber Rescued from Teewinot Mountain

Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, Grand Teton National Park rangers rescued a climber from Teewinot Mountain (elevation 12,325 feet) who was exhibiting acute physical distress. A 53-year-old climber, and resident of Rock Island, Illinois, became ill and incapable of completing a descent from Teewinot after he and two male companions successfully summited the Teton peak early Saturday afternoon.

The climbing party summited Teewinot Mountain about 2:15 p.m. on Saturday. They were making their way back down the mountain and had reached an elevation of about 9,700 feet near two features called the Worshipper and Idol when one of the members of the party began to exhibit a debilitating ailment. The climbers placed an emergency call for help around 6:20 p.m. That call was routed from the Teton County Sheriff's Office to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center, and park rangers were notified of the situation at 6:24 p.m.

Through cell phone conversations with the mountaineers, rangers determined that the ailing climber's condition may be serious. They summoned the assistance of a Teton Interagency contract helicopter to conduct an expedient rescue via short-haul before the 'pumpkin hour' and darkness set in. Although helicopters are often used to facilitate rescues in the Tetons, they are required to stop flying 30 minutes after official sunset: a time known as pumpkin hour. On Saturday, August 11, sunset was 8:31 p.m. and pumpkin hour was at 9:03 p.m. The helicopter was able to shut down operations at the Jackson Hole Airport Helibase at 8:57 p.m., within six minutes of the mandatory time.

Two rangers were inserted via short-haul to the climber's location on Teewinot. The Illinois climber was quickly assessed for his physical complaints, placed into an aerial evacuation suit, and connected to the short-haul line for transport from Teewinot. One ranger accompanied the climber during the short flight to the Jenny Lake Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows (elevation 6,760 feet). The climber was then met by emergency medical technicians and a park ambulance and transported to St. John's Medical Center in Jackson, Wyoming for further treatment. Once the ailing climber was evacuated by helicopter, the second ranger escorted his two companions out of the backcountry and back to their vehicle.

Short-haul is a rescue technique where an individual is suspended below the helicopter on a 100 to 200 foot rope. This method allows a rescuer more direct access to an injured or ailing party, and it is often used in the Teton Range where conditions make it difficult to land a helicopter in the steep and rocky terrain. Patients are typically flown out via short-haul with a ranger attending to them below the helicopter, as was the case for this rescue.



Jeff
Glacier National Park Hiking

Missing Climber Found Dead in Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park rangers located the body of Eric Tietze, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah about 3:30 p.m. Friday, July 13, after a daylong search of the central Teton peaks by ground and air. Tietze and three climbing partners were attempting to complete a climb of the Cathedral Traverse on Thursday, July 12, when he separated from his group and moved ahead of them on the route. Tietze apparently fell about 500-600 feet to his death shortly after leaving his friends. Tietze, a long-time Bridger-Teton National Forest employee, has worked 10 seasons on the Forest's trail crew.

Tietze separated from his partners as they were completing the final rappels off of a shoulder peak west of Teewinot Mountain. The last time Tietze's party saw him was about 10:30 a.m. His group continued the climb and summited Mount Owen where they waited for their friend. After Tietze failed to meet his group on the summit, the three partners backtracked and attempted a search for their friend until 7:30 p.m.

Tietze's party notified Teton Interagency Dispatch Center of their missing friend at 10 p.m. after they hiked out to the Lupine Meadows trailhead. The park's search and rescue (SAR) coordinator for the day began organizing a SAR operation that would begin at first light Friday morning, and two rangers on a routine backcountry patrol on the Lower Saddle of the Grand Teton were subsequently contacted.

Early Friday morning, the two rangers climbed from the Lower Saddle to the second ledges on the North Face of the Grand Teton and began searching with binoculars for Tietze. A Teton Interagency contract helicopter responded to the Lupine Meadows Rescue Cache at 7:30 a.m. Friday to conduct an aerial search as well. Two separate hour-long reconnaissance flights were conducted of likely areas where Tietze may have traveled; however no conclusive evidence of Tietze's possible whereabouts was provided by these reconnaissance flights.

A second Teton Interagency contract helicopter responded to Lupine Meadows just before 11 a.m. With the help of a second helicopter, rescuers decided to focus on two specific areas. One helicopter was sent to a landing zone on the Teton Glacier located in the cirque of the Grand Teton, Mount Owen, and Teewinot Mountain. The second ship was assigned to base out of a landing zone in lower Valhalla Canyon located northwest of the Grand Teton. The ship based out of Valhalla Canyon flew one rescuer, who was suspended on a short-haul rope below the helicopter, and dropped the rescuer down into crevasses and moats that cleave the permanent snowfields. The second helicopter based from Teton Glacier flew additional reconnaissance flights with three rangers inside the ship. Due to conditions and hazards in these areas, park rangers determined it would not be safe to insert rescuers onto snowfields for a ground-based search.

Rangers located Tietze's body on the East Prong feature between Teewinot and Mount Owen about 500 feet below an area that requires a notably challenging climbing move. One ranger was inserted via short-haul to the location and prepared Tietze for a short-haul extraction. Tietze was flown from the mountain to Lupine Meadows where his body was turned over to the Teton County coroner's office at 8:50 p.m.

Weather delayed recovery efforts Friday afternoon. Throughout the day, park rangers at the Lupine Meadows rescue cache were in contact with local weatherman, and former climbing ranger, Jim Woodmency for weather updates because storm cells and lightning were expected by afternoon.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Hiking a Classic: Cascade Canyon Trail in the Grand Tetons

The Cascade Canyon Trail in Grand Teton National Park is often rated as one of the best trails in the United States. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to hike this gem you would probably have to agree.

Having such notoriety bestowed upon it, the trail is naturally going to be one of the most popular destinations in the park. Our last visit to Cascade Canyon several years ago was no exception. In fact, this hike is probably one of the most memorable hikes we’ve ever had – and that’s not just due to the majestic mountain scenery.

Roughly a mile-and-a-half from the boat dock at Jenny Lake we caught up with a large group of hikers making a bit of a commotion. Based on their accents we assumed they were tourists from Germany. The clear “leader” of this group, a muscular guy without a shirt and wearing a bandana, whom we appropriately nicknamed “Rambo”, was banging the ground with a large stick. He and his fellow travelers were all yelling at a young black bear as it walked along the trail only a few yards in front of them.

The absurd part of the story is that the bear really didn’t care how loud these people yelled. He just continued strolling down the trail at his own leisurely pace. With the Germans in front of us, we literally followed the bear for nearly a mile before he decided he'd had enough and meandered off into the woods. We took this opportunity to double-time it in order to get away from this loud and obnoxious group.

Don’t try this at home! I never would’ve gotten this close had there not been so many other people around:

Later on, near the Forks of Cascade Canyon, we came across another commotion. This time there were several people off the side of the trail watching two bull moose engage in a turf battle. Naturally we wanted to check out the struggle ourselves. However, just as we arrived, the smaller moose waived the white flag, licked his proverbial wounds, and wandered out of the danger zone. Most of the people continued to stick around to snap a few more photos of the victor. But as the number of onlookers grew in size, and people tried to get a little closer, the moose became visibly agitated. Giving us fair warning, he began thrashing his antlers in the brush before suddenly rushing across the creek towards us. In an instant everyone scattered to the wind. Fortunately, it was only a bluff charge that ended just as quickly as it started, but I guarantee that everyone’s heart was racing for several moments afterward. As you might expect, that ended the photo shoot.

So, to complete our hike, we continued on to the forks. On our return trip I was able to get a shot of the moose while no one else around:

The hike to the forks is roughly 6.5 miles one-way. However, you can subtract two miles each way by taking the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake.

Many people prefer to end their hike at Inspiration Point, satisfied with the spectacular panoramic views of Jenny Lake and Jackson Hole:


Just beyond Inspiration Point, Mt. Owen comes into view:


Cascade Creek and Mt. Owen a mile above:

From Jenny Lake to the Forks of Cascade Canyon, the trail gains a little more than 1000 feet. Most of that elevation gain occurs in the first mile or so (above Jenny Lake). Just beyond Inspiration Point, the trail levels out as it passes through the U-shaped, glacially sculpted Cascade Canyon. The trail offers spectacular close-up views of Grand Teton, Mt. Owen and Teewinot Mountain. Although the trail can be quite crowded during peak tourist season, it's still a trek every hiker should experience at least once in their life.

Parting shot: this photo was taken the morning we left for home. We were extremely lucky to have come across this vantage point near Moran Junction just as a cloud bank was passing mid-way below the summit of Mount Moran. This is one of my all-time favorite shots:







Must-Do Hikes in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons












Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com