The Fine Line

In Part 2 of "The Ray Shriver Story," Mike Moyer discusses how he survived the tragic helicopter crash that killed his TCSAR teammate, Ray Shriver. Carol Viau, another TCSAR volunteer, talks about how she was first on the scene, while Tim Ciocarlan goes into detail about how the team recovered from this terrible incident. Shriver's two sons, Zach and Matt, remind us why this story matters and why it's important to them to help keep their dad's memory alive.

Interviews by Matt Hansen and Rebecca Huntington. Edited by Rebecca Huntington.

Thank you to Roadhouse Brewing Company for sponsoring The Fine Line and their support of backcountry safety in Jackson Hole.

On February 15, 2012, Teton County Search and Rescue received an emergency call to help an injured snowmobiler in the Togwotee area, about 60 miles northeast of Jackson, Wyoming. The response started like many others, with the team gathering at the hangar to decide on a plan. Given the remote nature of the accident, they decided to send the helicopter pilot with two SAR volunteers, Mike Moyer and Ray Shriver. The routine call would turn out to be anything but, as tragedy unfolded beneath the blue Wyoming sky, forcing the volunteers to search for their own, with Shriver, a founding TCSAR member, paying the ultimate price.

In this two-part series, TCSAR volunteers and Shriver’s two sons remember him as an influential, if hard-nosed, team member and father, and explain how they were able to emerge from the wreckage and move forward.

Thank you to Roadhouse Brewing Company for sponsoring The Fine Line and their support of backcountry safety in Jackson Hole.

How does a young person gain access to the backcountry? How do they do it safely? What happens when their Instagram feed is taken over by high flying stunts instead of avalanche awareness? How do they navigate not just the unforgiving wilderness, but life during the pandemic? What should parents and leaders in snow safety know about how kids approach avalanche terrain?

To get a better understanding of what young people think about going into the backcountry, we invited three Jackson Hole teenagers into the conversation. Thanks to Soraya Ziem, Ryan Millham, and Zack Little for the discussion.

Show Notes

The most important thing anyone can do before they go into the backcountry is get a formal avalanche education. Our guests achieved this through different youth programs offered in Jackson Hole.

BackcountryZero.com/winter has a full list of resources on where you can get an avalanche education.

The Jackson Hole Ski Club Backcountry Program is in its second year. Info: https://jhskiclub.org/backcountry

Jackson Hole High School Mountaineering Club has introduced hundreds of kids to backcountry safety over the years. You can find a great video about the Mountaineering Club on their Facebook page. Info: https://www.tcsd.org/Athletics/Sport/41

Coombs Outdoors offers children from low-income households the opportunity to access skiing and other outdoor activities all year long. Info: https://www.coombsoutdoors.org

Volunteer survey-takers, like Ryan Millham, have recorded data about backcountry habits from more than 3,000 people since 2016. Find out more about this program in the 5-year Backcountry Zero Review, published in December 2020. The review also includes information about the popular What’s In Your Pack classes.

Subscribe to the TCSAR Foundation newsletter so you can be notified of when these classes are offered. They always fill up fast. Info: http://www.tetoncountysar.org/rescue-reports

Interview by Matt Hansen. Editing by Melinda Binks.

It’s human nature for all of us to want to prove ourselves. But in backcountry skiing, where margins for error in avalanche terrain can be razor thin, this can be a dangerous path—for experts, beginners, and everyone in between. Concluding this two-part series of The Fine Line, Anna Meteyer confronts these and other complexities from April 1, 2020, when her friend and touring partner Trace Carrillo died in an avalanche on Teton Pass, Wyo. Meanwhile, TCSAR volunteer Jennifer Sparks talks about how psychological first aid has become a priority for first responders in Teton County.

Thank you to Anna Meteyer for sharing her story, and to Trace Carrillo's family and friends for supporting backcountry safety in his name through a scholarship fund at the University of Utah.

Show Notes

Please remember: It’s okay to not be okay. And it's perfectly fine to ask for help.

To learn more about mental health support offered by Teton Interagency Peer Support group, or TIPS, go to https://www.tetontips.com/.

If you or someone you know is suffering from stress trauma, mental illness or just needs someone to talk to, go to https://www.mentalhealthjh.com. Available to all Teton County, Wyo., residents.

For information on the Trace Carrillo scholarship fund providing Level 1 avalanche courses to students at the University of Utah, go to https://ustarter.utah.edu/o/university-of-utah-39/i/ustarter/s/trace-carrillo-dreamachieve.

Photo: Will Smith/TCSAR

On April 1, 2020, Anna Meteyer met her friend Trace Carrillo for a backcountry snowboard tour on Taylor Mountain, a large peak on the west side of Teton Pass, Wyoming. In this two-part series of The Fine Line, Meteyer describes the tragedy that unfolded, the brutal lessons she learned, and her struggle to cope and move forward.

We hope the take away from this honest conversation about risk and decision making is not an opportunity to judge others, but as a way of reflecting on how we can all improve the ways in which we approach the backcountry. Whether you are a longtime backcountry user or just starting out, please be respectful and take the time to consider this story with an open mind.

Interview by Matt Hansen. Editing by Melinda Binks.

In Part 2 of our story about a crevasse rescue on the Teton Glacier, Jenny Lake Climbing Ranger Mike Shain helps Tyler Willis get off the mountain to medical treatment, and they discuss the lessons that every climber in the Tetons should be aware of before they begin an adventure.

Thirty feet down a dark, icy crevasse, Tyler Willis never gave up hope that he would be rescued. That he was eventually pulled from the depths of the Teton Glacier by his climbing partner and two passersby after more than an hour of rope rigging is testament to the value of companion rescue.

The harrowing tale from August 8, 2020, includes two chapters: the fall and complicated extrication from the crevasse, and how Jenny Lake climbing rangers eventually got Willis off the mountain.

Season 5 of The Fine Line begins: On the calm evening of September 5, 2020, two mountain bikers set off to ride the technical Phillips Canyon trail off Teton Pass. About halfway into the ride, they approached the second of three log bridge crossings. One rider made it across. The other lost her balance and fell off the side of the bridge into the cold creek below. Unable to walk, in severe pain, and with hypothermia setting in as darkness fell, the biker was in for a long night.

Four Pines is one of the most popular ski descents in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort backcountry. And yet, when something goes horribly wrong, as it did for Tom Gehling on the snowy afternoon of February 5, 2019, it can be like another planet and have life-altering consequences.

Gehling's accident and dramatic helicopter rescue are the subject of the newest episode of The Fine Line.

The episode features honest dialogue about decision-making during high avalanche danger, complacency for lift-served backcountry, “epic powder skiing,” and why having a rescue-ready helicopter is so critical to Teton County, Wyoming.

In Chapter 3, James Moore talks with rescuer Lizzie Watson, his wife, Betsy, and brother, Jake Peasley, about his rescue, recovery and even some unexpected moments of humor as rescuers rushed him to safety.

Photo: TCSAR team member Lizzie Watson was medical lead in responding to Moore's injuries. James' wife, Betsy, stands in the middle.