WEBVTT

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King: Patient who has
injured his leg seriously.

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Ciocarlan: Well, we're really
worried about avalanche.

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That's the number one thing
in the backcountry.

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And we're worried
about hypothermia.

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Were they prepared
to spend the night?

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King: Uh, we have
another rescue, so...

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Ciocarlan: I want to use
all the snowmobiles if I can.

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But I have to have good teams.

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Tucker: First time that, uh,

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I've ever had three calls
in 10 years

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I've been doing this,
three calls in one day.

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Well, you --
when it rains, it pours.

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Woman: ♪ Amazing grace 

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♪ How sweet the sound 

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♪ That saved a wretch
like me ♪

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♪ I once was lost 

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♪ But now I'm found 

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Trevor: Ah, God!

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♪ Was blind 

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♪ But now I see 

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Narrator: Life in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming is speeding up.

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It's a dash to take in
everything the Tetons offer.

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And that fills Jackson with
a constant adventurous buzz.

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It seems everyone
is on their way out the door

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or just returning
from another epic experience.

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The constant coming and going
leaves locals feeling unmoored.

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They crave an anchoring
base camp,

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somewhere in the shadow
of these mountains

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where they can rest
and reset just long enough

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to dream up another trip
into the backcountry.

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[ Howling ]

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As more locals
look to put down roots,

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the town continues
to spread out into the aspen

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and cottonwood groves.

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This is where
Search and Rescue coordinator

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Jess King found her home,

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just downslope of the Tetons.

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King: This is my house.

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Incredibly fortunate to be able
to own a home in Jackson.

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It's really tough,
as most people

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who have heard
of Jackson Hole know.

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It's a really
wealthy community.

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So it's challenging
to make ends meet.

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But my husband, John,
and I

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have worked really hard
to save money and buy a place.

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Narrator: Jess is
the only paid staffer

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on Search and Rescue.

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As the team coordinator,
she's the human glue

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holding the operation together.

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King: You can see
that we're in the middle

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of a ton of renovations.

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We have too much space,

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which I guess
is a good problem to have.

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But -- so we just live in...

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This is where
our master closet is.

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It's storage right now, too.

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But because of getting call-outs
in the middle of the night,

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it's really nice
that I can get out of bed,

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run in here and get changed
for a rescue

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and not wake up John.

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Narrator: All
Search and Rescue members

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must have their gear
well organized

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and ready to respond
when a call comes in.

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Right now, with the inside
of her home totally gutted,

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Jess isn't feeling as dialed
as she'd like to be.

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King: I'm on call 24/7 for work.

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And so I'm kind of at work
all the time.

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But I love my job.
I love SAR.

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I started as a volunteer
'cause I love it,

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transitioned into this job.

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It can be challenging at times
to balance it

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'cause I'll be
in the middle of something,

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like working on a project
with my husband.

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Then, we get a call-out,

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and you got to leave.

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Narrator: The town of Jackson
is a jumping-off point

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for all kinds of adventures
into the backcountry,

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routine to downright risky.

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So it makes sense
that this place

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maintains a community base camp,

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perched on a hill
right in the center of town.

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And it's Jess' job
to maintain this place.

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Home for her right now
might be chaos.

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But the Search and Rescue
hangar is actually shipshape.

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King: I take care
of this whole building.

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I make sure it's operational,

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that all of our gear
is ready to go

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when we have a mission.

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I love everything
to be in its place

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and to have lots of open space,
be really clean.

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Just like to make sure
that they're ready to go.

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This isn't my gear.

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This is their gear to use
and perform the missions.

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And we couldn't do our job
without all this gear.

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Narrator: Jess doesn't know it,
but this is the calm

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before the biggest storm
of rescues

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ever to hit Jackson Hole.

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The call for help comes in from
neighboring Bonneville County,

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about 40 miles southwest
of the Search and Rescue hangar.

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In an area known
as Black Mountain,

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two snowmobilers
disappeared the day before.

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The local sheriff's department

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briefs
the Search and Rescue team.

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Man: We have two snowmobilers

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that have been lost
since about 2:12,

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stuck since probably
about 2:30 yesterday.

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It is one of our deputies
and one of his neighbors.

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So far, they've seen two tracks

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going into some
pretty nasty terrain

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that it can go into.

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You have a plummet
going out the bottom

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and weren't willing
to do that last night

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because of the darkness,
obviously.

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Man: Okay.

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Wheeler: Flip -- team leader
of your group.

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Uh, Scroy --
team leader of your group.

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Gailen, team leader
of your group.

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Man 2: Okay.

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Wheeler: Okay.
Will you guys grab a helmet

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if you don't got one?
Hey, guys.

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King: We assign hasty teams

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as we need to with leaders.

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We make sure everyone
has the safety gear they need.

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And then we dispatch them
into the field.

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Narrator: Jess pulls together
the best team members

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and tools needed
to execute this rescue

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while veteran
volunteer Tim Ciocarlan

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steps up as incident commander,

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overseeing operations
from the hangar.

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Ciocarlan: Your time.

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Tucker: I want to be where the
forks -- the two tracks go in.

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Ciocarlan: Put your teams
together.

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Ciocarlan: I want to use
all the snowmobiles if I can.

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But I have to have good teams.

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We're not only sending
a helicopter

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to help look
for the two lost snowmobilers.

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We also send ground teams,

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and we send
a ground snowmobile team.

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And we do that as a backup plan
'cause we never know

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if we can make it
there with a helicopter.

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But more importantly,

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we don't know
if we make it back.

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If that aircraft goes down
with our people onboard,

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we want to be there right now.

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So we have a ground team

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en route down
to the staging area.

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And, um, we'll put them
to work if it needs to be.

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Ciocarlan: We're really
worried about avalanche.

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That's the number one thing
in the backcountry.

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And we're worried
about hypothermia.

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You know, even if they didn't
get in an avalanche,

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were they prepared
to spend the night?

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And did they stay warm?

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You always worry a little bit
about somebody getting hurt

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and they're not being able
to get out.

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And finally, you worry about,

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"Well, maybe they just have a --

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maybe they're just stuck."

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Narrator: The team
lays out its plan.

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They have no known coordinates
for the missing snowmobilers.

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So they scour the area
using spotters in the heli

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and expert sledders
on the ground.

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Both are looking
for one thing --

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tracks leading
to the lost riders.

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Every minutes counts.

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Jess relocates to the trail head
and coordinates the rescue.

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Searching by both land
and air could cut time

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and mean the difference
between life and death,

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especially if the lost riders
were unable to start a fire

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and ward off hypothermia.

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King: What we have here
is we had a couple snowmobilers

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spend the night out last night.

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Today, the helicopter went in
with some -- from our team.

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The ground teams went in.

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Teton County
Search and Rescue

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heli specialist, Jon Wiedie,
scouts from the chopper.

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Wiedie: We don't really
have good visibility.

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There's a fog layer down there.

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Narrator: The snowmobilers
could be seriously injured

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or hypothermic.

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And the heli team still doesn't
know their exact location.

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Teton County rescuers
lead a search by land and air...

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...with heli specialist
John Wiedie

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scouting from a chopper,

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on the hunt for a pair
of lost snowmobilers

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who overnighted
in the backcountry.

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The snowmobilers
could be injured

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or suffering from hypothermia,

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so Jon and the heli team
are concerned

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to find thick fog
hanging over the search area.

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Then, the heli team
spots members

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of the rescue party below.

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They've traced a set of tracks
from the day before

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and now hope to pinpoint

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where the lost snowmobilers
are stuck.

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Wiedie: We finally get
in the drainage,

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one of the two drainages
we think they might be in.

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The light has gotten good.

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The cloud layer has lifted.

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As we're coming up-canyon,

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we see some smoke up
near the head of this canyon

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and make our way that way.

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Narrator: And that's when
the heli team spots

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the lost riders.

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They're stuck in a steep canyon
and appear to be struggling

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with one of the sleds.

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Jon studies
the difficult terrain

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for above and prepares himself

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for what he'll find
when the heli lands.

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Wiedie: Just kind of wondering,
if we're gonna be dealing

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with any injury
or anything medical.

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You know, are these guys
really in trouble,

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or they spent the night?

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So, obviously, there's always

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a bit of adrenaline going.

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Narrator: When the 2,700-pound
heli lands

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in soft deep snow, it sinks.

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This shortens the distance

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between the spinning rotor
overhead

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and the snow surface below.

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So to avoid the blades,

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crew members use
a specialized exit maneuver.

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Wiedie: Some of us on the team
call it the badger crawl,

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just to get as far away
from the rotors as we can.

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Narrator: Happily, the rescuers
come upon a best-case scenario.

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The snowmobilers are uninjured.

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And they've repaired their
snowmobile enough to ride out.

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But they're unsure
of which direction to go.

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Wiedie: We make contact
with the two lost snowmobilers

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and find out that they're,
you know, they're healthy.

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They just spent the night out.
They had a big fire.

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One snowmobile isn't really
operating that well.

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And having spent the night
and spent, I think,

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a good portion of the evening
trying to get out of there,

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they're wanting to kind of
end their ordeal,

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I guess,
without too much strain.

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Narrator: Back at
incident command,

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word of the snowmobilers'
condition

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is relayed to the team.

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Man: You good?

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King: We're able to
locate the missing party.

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Luckily, they're all okay,
just cold and tired.

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And right now, the helicopter
is helping them navigate

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the best route out
back to the trailhead,

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'cause the route they went in
was pretty technical

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and challenging to get back out.

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So right now,
we're waiting for everyone

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to come back to the trailhead.

249
00:12:50.836 --> 00:12:52.238
Narrator: With the
heli crew's help,

250
00:12:52.271 --> 00:12:55.574
the rescuers and lost
snowmobilers find their way out.

251
00:12:55.608 --> 00:12:58.878
So Jess and the rest of the team
head back to the hangar.

252
00:13:06.252 --> 00:13:07.386
Ciocarlan: Well,
we just finished a rescue,

253
00:13:07.419 --> 00:13:09.155
and we were just putting
all the gear away,

254
00:13:09.188 --> 00:13:12.892
and we just shut the doors,
put the aircraft in.

255
00:13:12.925 --> 00:13:14.827
And then we were all
standing around, debriefing,

256
00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:16.829
and lo and behold,
we get another call.

257
00:13:16.862 --> 00:13:19.064
Narrator: It's another
snowmobiler in trouble.

258
00:13:19.098 --> 00:13:21.400
But this time,
it's a 13-year-old boy

259
00:13:21.433 --> 00:13:23.102
with a serious leg injury.

260
00:13:23.135 --> 00:13:24.370
Ciocarlan: Let's get it going.

261
00:13:30.910 --> 00:13:32.878
Narrator: After rescuing
two lost snowmobilers,

262
00:13:32.912 --> 00:13:35.281
the Teton County
Search and Rescue volunteer team

263
00:13:35.314 --> 00:13:37.883
looks forward to
winding down at the hangar.

264
00:13:37.917 --> 00:13:40.319
But then another call comes in.

265
00:13:40.352 --> 00:13:43.055
This time,
it's a 13-year-old snowmobiler

266
00:13:43.088 --> 00:13:46.192
with a broken femur
up on Togwotee Pass.

267
00:13:49.428 --> 00:13:51.864
Ciocarlan: Let me
get everybody rounded up.

268
00:13:51.897 --> 00:13:53.232
Man: Finished debriefing?

269
00:13:53.265 --> 00:13:55.234
King: We have another rescue,
so...

270
00:13:55.267 --> 00:13:56.268
Narrator: So once again,

271
00:13:56.302 --> 00:13:58.537
the community is relying
on Jess' team

272
00:13:58.571 --> 00:14:01.774
to swoop into the backcountry
by land and air.

273
00:14:01.807 --> 00:14:06.178
Leading the snowmobile crew
is expert rider Flip Tucker.

274
00:14:06.212 --> 00:14:09.982
Tucker: Twenty-four seven --
we're always on call.

275
00:14:10.015 --> 00:14:11.450
We don't get days off.

276
00:14:11.483 --> 00:14:13.252
That's why we have --
we have 40 members

277
00:14:13.285 --> 00:14:15.321
that take care of that.

278
00:14:15.354 --> 00:14:17.156
King: We have
so many people here.

279
00:14:17.189 --> 00:14:20.459
We've got enough here.
Man: Okay.

280
00:14:20.492 --> 00:14:21.627
Narrator: Today, Flip's job

281
00:14:21.660 --> 00:14:23.963
is to provide backup support
for the heli.

282
00:14:23.996 --> 00:14:28.100
And if he's lucky, he'll get to
ride to the scene of the rescue.

283
00:14:28.133 --> 00:14:29.802
Tucker: K Trail.

284
00:14:29.835 --> 00:14:33.906
Um, Alex, grab a map of the --
of the Togwotee area.

285
00:14:38.143 --> 00:14:39.845
That's always been a thing.

286
00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:44.116
So we always just try to be p --
contact with the patient.

287
00:14:44.149 --> 00:14:48.687
And it's hard to do sometimes
when you've got the choppers.

288
00:14:56.662 --> 00:14:58.664
Narrator: Flip's ground team
arrives at the trailhead

289
00:14:58.697 --> 00:15:03.669
just as the heli spots
the injured rider from the air.

290
00:15:03.702 --> 00:15:05.504
Back at the hangar,
Jess monitors

291
00:15:05.537 --> 00:15:07.640
all communications
and learns the situation

292
00:15:07.673 --> 00:15:09.708
is growing increasingly urgent.

293
00:15:20.252 --> 00:15:22.288
Guides from nearby
Togwotee Mountain Lodge

294
00:15:22.321 --> 00:15:24.990
are on scene
and have the boy stabilized.

295
00:15:25.024 --> 00:15:27.826
But they still need help
moving him.

296
00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.496
The boy is surrounded
by friends and family.

297
00:15:30.529 --> 00:15:32.665
Rescuers on scene
organize the group

298
00:15:32.698 --> 00:15:35.601
so they can carry him smoothly
over the snow.

299
00:15:35.634 --> 00:15:38.570
This is important because,
with a broken femur,

300
00:15:38.604 --> 00:15:41.840
the jagged end of the bone
can nick an artery if jostled

301
00:15:41.874 --> 00:15:44.443
and cause serious
internal bleeding.

302
00:15:51.650 --> 00:15:53.185
Time is running short.

303
00:15:53.218 --> 00:15:55.321
They need to get the boy
out of the backcountry

304
00:15:55.354 --> 00:15:58.090
and into the ambulance
waiting back at the highway.

305
00:16:18.711 --> 00:16:20.179
King: When the chopper picks up

306
00:16:20.212 --> 00:16:21.613
and is headed towards
the ambulance,

307
00:16:21.647 --> 00:16:23.582
I feel a huge sense of relief.

308
00:16:23.615 --> 00:16:25.517
I mean, I don't feel
like the job is done

309
00:16:25.551 --> 00:16:27.953
until the helicopter's
back here at the hangar,

310
00:16:27.987 --> 00:16:30.723
and my team is back here safely.

311
00:16:41.734 --> 00:16:44.737
Narrator: Then, shortly after
wrapping up this incident,

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00:16:44.770 --> 00:16:49.174
another emergency call comes in.

313
00:16:49.208 --> 00:16:53.245
Three in one day --
a new record.

314
00:16:53.278 --> 00:16:54.613
Man: Three in one day, huh?

315
00:16:54.646 --> 00:16:58.217
King: I need to figure out
who I've got.

316
00:17:04.823 --> 00:17:05.791
It's time for Zero.

317
00:17:05.824 --> 00:17:08.060
The exhaustion of two rescues
in one day

318
00:17:08.093 --> 00:17:09.561
is starting to set in.

319
00:17:09.595 --> 00:17:12.798
Everyone is looking forward
to the end of this day.

320
00:17:12.831 --> 00:17:15.801
But there will be no rest
for the weary just yet

321
00:17:15.834 --> 00:17:18.737
because, now,
a record-setting third call

322
00:17:18.771 --> 00:17:21.407
is coming in
to Search and Rescue.

323
00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.076
King: He and Flip,
is that all I have left?

324
00:17:24.109 --> 00:17:25.811
Narrator: A backcountry skier
with a blown knee

325
00:17:25.844 --> 00:17:27.046
is stranded at a yurt

326
00:17:27.079 --> 00:17:30.282
perched along
the remote Commissary Ridge.

327
00:17:30.315 --> 00:17:32.184
King: Here's Targhee.
Tucker: Okay. Gotcha.

328
00:17:32.217 --> 00:17:35.754
King: Okay, this is Commissary
Ridge across the way.

329
00:17:35.788 --> 00:17:36.922
Narrator:
This kind of injury

330
00:17:36.955 --> 00:17:38.924
should require
a simple patient evacuation.

331
00:17:38.957 --> 00:17:41.093
But the way this day's going,

332
00:17:41.126 --> 00:17:42.594
the team is prepared
to stay the night

333
00:17:42.628 --> 00:17:44.897
in the backcountry if necessary.

334
00:17:48.133 --> 00:17:49.435
Tucker: When we get call-outs
like that,

335
00:17:49.468 --> 00:17:50.869
it's nuts sometimes.

336
00:17:50.903 --> 00:17:52.471
We can go three weeks
without something,

337
00:17:52.504 --> 00:17:53.539
then, bang, bang, bang.

338
00:17:53.572 --> 00:17:55.140
We'll have three --
three in a row.

339
00:17:55.174 --> 00:17:56.975
Tucker: First time that

340
00:17:57.009 --> 00:17:59.211
we've ever had three calls in
10 years I've been doing this,

341
00:17:59.244 --> 00:18:01.280
three calls in one day.

342
00:18:01.313 --> 00:18:03.649
I'm trying to get
my team ready to go.

343
00:18:03.682 --> 00:18:08.153
Narrator: For the third
time today, Flip races out.

344
00:18:12.724 --> 00:18:14.827
The crew will make short work
of this rescue

345
00:18:14.860 --> 00:18:16.995
if they can find
a clear place to land.

346
00:18:17.029 --> 00:18:21.500
Without a good landing zone,
this could turn into an ordeal.

347
00:18:21.533 --> 00:18:23.602
So with other teammates
exhausted from the marathon

348
00:18:23.635 --> 00:18:24.870
string of calls,

349
00:18:24.903 --> 00:18:27.840
Tim hops aboard the heli
to lead field operations.

350
00:18:30.442 --> 00:18:32.111
King: Yeah.
If you guys get there first,

351
00:18:32.144 --> 00:18:35.848
that would be great.

352
00:18:35.881 --> 00:18:38.517
Ciocarlan: We have a --
a woman that

353
00:18:38.550 --> 00:18:40.552
has a pretty serious
knee injury

354
00:18:40.586 --> 00:18:42.454
on the other side
of the county again

355
00:18:42.488 --> 00:18:44.823
and completely opposite
direction.

356
00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:52.064
Narrator: The snow is 6 feet
deep on top of Commissary Ridge.

357
00:18:52.097 --> 00:18:54.299
Lucky for the team,
friends of the injured skier

358
00:18:54.333 --> 00:18:55.901
stomp out a landing zone.

359
00:18:55.934 --> 00:18:59.338
That way, the heli won't get
bogged down in the snow.

360
00:19:05.010 --> 00:19:06.778
As Tim approaches
the patient,

361
00:19:06.812 --> 00:19:10.983
he sees that
it's a familiar face.

362
00:19:11.016 --> 00:19:12.885
Ciocarlan: Turns out
I know these folks.

363
00:19:12.918 --> 00:19:15.287
Just screwing off
instead of working, huh?

364
00:19:15.320 --> 00:19:16.421
Man: That's that's all we get.

365
00:19:16.455 --> 00:19:19.625
Sorry, Tim.

366
00:19:19.658 --> 00:19:21.160
Ciocarlan: They were staying
at a backcountry yurt

367
00:19:21.193 --> 00:19:22.394
and skiing up there.

368
00:19:22.427 --> 00:19:24.796
And, um, snow conditions
are pretty bad.

369
00:19:24.830 --> 00:19:27.199
Blew up a knee or a leg on --

370
00:19:27.232 --> 00:19:29.401
during one of the runs
during the day.

371
00:19:35.507 --> 00:19:37.309
Woman: I'm great. I'm great.

372
00:19:37.342 --> 00:19:39.344
Ciocarlan: You think
you can move that now?

373
00:19:39.378 --> 00:19:40.312
Woman: Like this or...

374
00:19:40.345 --> 00:19:41.146
Ciocarlan: Yeah.
You can't bend it?

375
00:19:41.180 --> 00:19:43.815
Woman: My knee? No. No. No.

376
00:19:43.849 --> 00:19:45.551
Narrator: Once the leg
is protected,

377
00:19:45.584 --> 00:19:47.719
Tim brings the skier
to the heli.

378
00:20:03.635 --> 00:20:05.237
Ciocarlan: Let's just
do the fireman carry.

379
00:20:05.270 --> 00:20:06.538
All the folks are back,

380
00:20:06.572 --> 00:20:08.173
and they're back
with their loved ones,

381
00:20:08.207 --> 00:20:10.008
alive and well.

382
00:20:12.144 --> 00:20:14.146
But just a good day
for all of us.

383
00:20:14.179 --> 00:20:17.149
We're really, really proud
to help our community.

384
00:20:17.182 --> 00:20:19.451
King: I love working
at the hangar by myself

385
00:20:19.484 --> 00:20:21.420
and getting things organized
and fixing gear.

386
00:20:21.453 --> 00:20:23.322
But it's way more fun
when the whole team is here,

387
00:20:23.355 --> 00:20:25.757
and we're actually doing
what we trained for.

388
00:20:27.793 --> 00:20:28.994
I mean, that's just awesome.

389
00:20:29.027 --> 00:20:29.061
It doesn't get better than that.