WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.107 --> 00:00:11.845 Davis: I see that his quadricep is the size of a soccer ball. 2 00:00:11.878 --> 00:00:13.646 And he didn't want to move. 3 00:00:13.680 --> 00:00:18.351 We needed to get him warm, get his leg splinted and go. 4 00:00:18.385 --> 00:00:20.387 We don't know if the helicopter can make it back. 5 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:22.389 And we don't know what time they're getting back. 6 00:00:22.422 --> 00:00:25.025 So we just have to sort of be self-sufficient for now. 7 00:00:25.058 --> 00:00:27.594 So we need all hands on deck here, people. 8 00:00:27.627 --> 00:00:29.996 Man: One, two, three. 9 00:00:30.030 --> 00:00:31.498 Easy, easy, easy, easy. 10 00:00:35.268 --> 00:00:42.042 Woman: ♪ Amazing grace 11 00:00:42.075 --> 00:00:49.049 ♪ How sweet the sound 12 00:00:49.082 --> 00:01:02.562 ♪ That saved a wretch like me ♪ 13 00:01:02.595 --> 00:01:09.536 ♪ I once was lost 14 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:17.410 ♪ But now I'm found 15 00:01:17.444 --> 00:01:19.879 Trevor: Ah, God! 16 00:01:23.683 --> 00:01:26.653 ♪ Was blind 17 00:01:26.686 --> 00:01:30.790 ♪ But now I see 18 00:01:38.364 --> 00:01:40.233 Narrator: Jackson Hole, Wyoming, 19 00:01:40.266 --> 00:01:42.735 might be known as the gateway to Yellowstone, 20 00:01:42.769 --> 00:01:46.372 but many come to hunt and fish outside the park. 21 00:01:46.406 --> 00:01:47.640 For local hunters and anglers, 22 00:01:47.674 --> 00:01:49.742 it's an all-season paradise 23 00:01:49.776 --> 00:01:51.811 where the exact location of the best trout holes 24 00:01:51.845 --> 00:01:54.981 and elk haunts remain well-kept secrets. 25 00:01:58.885 --> 00:02:00.987 For most of its more than 200-year history, 26 00:02:01.020 --> 00:02:03.223 Jackson Hole was a remote outpost 27 00:02:03.256 --> 00:02:05.825 where hunters and anglers were on their own. 28 00:02:05.859 --> 00:02:08.761 If anyone got lost or in trouble in the backcountry, 29 00:02:08.795 --> 00:02:10.630 rescue work fell to local outfitters 30 00:02:10.663 --> 00:02:13.433 who hauled people back to town on horseback. 31 00:02:15.702 --> 00:02:18.538 Now there's Teton County Search and Rescue. 32 00:02:18.571 --> 00:02:21.040 And when a hunter, or anyone else, goes missing, 33 00:02:21.074 --> 00:02:25.145 the team uses helicopters to search by air. 34 00:02:25.178 --> 00:02:26.379 They bring along specialists 35 00:02:26.412 --> 00:02:28.515 in backcountry emergency medicine, 36 00:02:28.548 --> 00:02:31.217 doctors like AJ Wheeler, who are on a mission 37 00:02:31.251 --> 00:02:35.989 to extend hospital care to every corner of Teton County. 38 00:02:36.022 --> 00:02:38.558 Wheeler: I have a lot of irons in the fire. 39 00:02:38.591 --> 00:02:39.726 I mean, one of my goals 40 00:02:39.759 --> 00:02:41.628 is to elevate our level of medical care 41 00:02:41.661 --> 00:02:44.364 that we're providing across the county, 42 00:02:44.397 --> 00:02:46.566 whether it's in the Grand Teton National Park, 43 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:47.834 in the national forests 44 00:02:47.867 --> 00:02:49.969 or on our search and rescue missions. 45 00:02:50.003 --> 00:02:52.672 Narrator: It's an ambitious goal that puts incredible demands 46 00:02:52.705 --> 00:02:54.240 on Dr. Wheeler's time. 47 00:02:54.274 --> 00:02:56.342 Wheeler: Once we get you over there, 48 00:02:56.376 --> 00:02:59.646 we can get your leg stabilized, and you'll feel a lot better. 49 00:02:59.679 --> 00:03:01.581 Narrator: In addition to living on call, 50 00:03:01.614 --> 00:03:03.049 waiting for accidents to happen, 51 00:03:03.082 --> 00:03:06.352 AJ is also the father of two young kids. 52 00:03:06.386 --> 00:03:08.588 Sometimes, just, uh, little reminders 53 00:03:08.621 --> 00:03:11.691 about the things that are important to your family. 54 00:03:11.724 --> 00:03:13.960 Narrator: He'd rather be fly-fishing with his son 55 00:03:13.993 --> 00:03:16.296 than flying out the door on another rescue call. 56 00:03:16.329 --> 00:03:18.131 Boy: What's this called, like an elk hair something? 57 00:03:18.164 --> 00:03:22.035 Wheeler: It's an elk-hair caddis. Yep. 58 00:03:22.068 --> 00:03:23.770 My first elk. 59 00:03:23.803 --> 00:03:27.173 We keep it on the down-low that we were able to go there. 60 00:03:27.207 --> 00:03:30.877 Between bison and elk, I think we're set for a little while. 61 00:03:30.910 --> 00:03:32.278 I love my search and rescue team. 62 00:03:32.312 --> 00:03:33.913 But my family is my foundation. 63 00:03:33.947 --> 00:03:36.950 And the kids think, you know, this is special. 64 00:03:36.983 --> 00:03:39.852 I don't think they realize exactly what I do on the team. 65 00:03:39.886 --> 00:03:43.356 But I think they know it's not something that everybody does. 66 00:03:43.389 --> 00:03:44.624 Boy: What is your job? 67 00:03:44.657 --> 00:03:46.593 Wheeler: Tell 'em what you think I do. 68 00:03:46.626 --> 00:03:50.530 Boy: Um, I think he helps them find the people 69 00:03:50.563 --> 00:03:54.067 when they're hurt and need help. 70 00:03:54.100 --> 00:03:55.235 Wheeler: Yeah. I think so. 71 00:03:57.770 --> 00:04:00.540 This is one of my getaways. 72 00:04:00.573 --> 00:04:04.077 My office is the one room in the house that's mine. 73 00:04:04.110 --> 00:04:05.612 That's every night here. 74 00:04:05.645 --> 00:04:08.948 I designed the house to have this view. 75 00:04:08.982 --> 00:04:11.584 So there's not a bad view in the house. 76 00:04:11.618 --> 00:04:13.620 It just reminds you why we live here, 77 00:04:13.653 --> 00:04:16.089 why we get to do what we do. 78 00:04:16.122 --> 00:04:18.825 The pass right there, Mount Glory's in the clouds 79 00:04:18.858 --> 00:04:20.893 and the south side of the pass 80 00:04:20.927 --> 00:04:23.229 where a lot of people ski sitting right there. 81 00:04:23.263 --> 00:04:24.831 So, a lot of times when we get that call, 82 00:04:24.864 --> 00:04:26.933 I can look right out the window and see what the weather's 83 00:04:26.966 --> 00:04:29.135 like on the pass, right where we're heading. 84 00:04:32.372 --> 00:04:34.440 You gotta be ready for everything. 85 00:04:34.474 --> 00:04:37.043 I think I view the world in my own special way. 86 00:04:37.076 --> 00:04:39.812 But I think if you want to see the world a certain way, 87 00:04:39.846 --> 00:04:41.547 you have to go out and make it that way. 88 00:04:41.581 --> 00:04:43.049 And, for me, 89 00:04:43.082 --> 00:04:44.584 putting those irons in the fire 90 00:04:44.617 --> 00:04:47.520 and trying to corral the family 91 00:04:47.553 --> 00:04:50.390 and work with these different agencies is my attempt 92 00:04:50.423 --> 00:04:52.258 to put my stamp on the world 93 00:04:52.292 --> 00:04:55.962 and get things to work the way I think they should. 94 00:04:55.995 --> 00:04:57.864 It's a small community. We get out there. 95 00:04:57.897 --> 00:04:59.766 And people get after it. 96 00:04:59.799 --> 00:05:03.336 And, unfortunately, accidents happen. 97 00:05:03.369 --> 00:05:05.672 Narrator: That's why donors and volunteers came together 98 00:05:05.705 --> 00:05:08.107 to build Teton County Search and Rescue, 99 00:05:08.141 --> 00:05:10.677 the best-equipped facility in the Rockies. 100 00:05:10.710 --> 00:05:14.047 The queen of this hangar is Jess King. 101 00:05:16.082 --> 00:05:18.518 Today, she's getting ropes and rigging gear ready 102 00:05:18.551 --> 00:05:22.021 for a practice run up on Teton Pass. 103 00:05:22.055 --> 00:05:23.756 These are the tools that allow the team 104 00:05:23.790 --> 00:05:25.158 to cling to mountainsides 105 00:05:25.191 --> 00:05:26.626 and pull people out of danger, 106 00:05:26.659 --> 00:05:29.062 but not without hours and hours of training. 107 00:05:29.095 --> 00:05:31.297 King: You need to have a higher skill level. 108 00:05:31.331 --> 00:05:34.133 You need to have really good partners that you trust. 109 00:05:34.167 --> 00:05:35.702 Narrator: The volunteer in charge of building 110 00:05:35.735 --> 00:05:38.404 that trust is training director Jake Urban. 111 00:05:38.438 --> 00:05:40.873 This year, he's joined by his wife, Marilynn Davis, 112 00:05:40.907 --> 00:05:43.443 now a rookie paramedic on the team. 113 00:05:45.611 --> 00:05:47.447 Davis: Jake and I work well together. 114 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.817 And we're hoping to sort of take it to the next level. 115 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:52.018 King: Jake is great. 116 00:05:52.051 --> 00:05:54.554 He has got so much energy for this team. 117 00:05:54.587 --> 00:05:55.755 He loves it. 118 00:05:55.788 --> 00:05:57.724 Urban: So the tension will be on your prusiks. 119 00:05:57.757 --> 00:05:58.958 And it'll be backed up. 120 00:05:58.991 --> 00:06:01.728 King: He shows up for everything on time. 121 00:06:01.761 --> 00:06:03.196 He stays late. 122 00:06:03.229 --> 00:06:05.832 He puts an enormous amount of energy 123 00:06:05.865 --> 00:06:07.667 into his training program. 124 00:06:07.700 --> 00:06:09.469 He's a lifer. 125 00:06:09.502 --> 00:06:11.804 Urban: I'm herding 40 some members. 126 00:06:11.838 --> 00:06:15.708 And once we've got the structure in place, 127 00:06:15.742 --> 00:06:18.444 training is the most fun I have with the team. 128 00:06:18.478 --> 00:06:21.180 Narrator: Today's mission -- to practice rope's rigging 129 00:06:21.214 --> 00:06:25.418 for lowering injury victims off steep mountain slopes. 130 00:06:25.451 --> 00:06:27.920 They'll load the heli and head for Teton Pass, 131 00:06:27.954 --> 00:06:33.059 where it's easy to simulate a real backcountry emergency. 132 00:06:33.092 --> 00:06:36.829 Urban: After insertion, we are moving up the ridge 133 00:06:36.863 --> 00:06:41.033 as teams in order to get to the training location. 134 00:06:41.067 --> 00:06:42.769 We're gonna package a patient 135 00:06:42.802 --> 00:06:45.538 and then lower the patient through the terrain, 136 00:06:45.571 --> 00:06:48.975 do a knot pass and receive that patient 137 00:06:49.008 --> 00:06:53.012 so that we can do a second lower in that terrain. 138 00:06:53.045 --> 00:06:55.014 Lockhart: Your two anchors are gonna go to one focal point. 139 00:06:55.047 --> 00:06:57.517 Our two anchors are gonna go to one focal point. 140 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.051 We'll have rope on each one that'll each go 141 00:06:59.085 --> 00:07:00.353 to a different system. 142 00:07:00.386 --> 00:07:02.021 Urban: Rigging is the foundation 143 00:07:02.054 --> 00:07:04.690 of everything that we do in search and rescue. 144 00:07:04.724 --> 00:07:06.392 It's the foundation of teamwork. 145 00:07:06.426 --> 00:07:08.294 It's the foundation of technical skill. 146 00:07:08.327 --> 00:07:11.597 Davis: Hooks are good. And your knot looks good. 147 00:07:11.631 --> 00:07:13.833 Narrator: Volunteer Cody Lockhart ropes up 148 00:07:13.866 --> 00:07:15.635 before moving out to a cliff area 149 00:07:15.668 --> 00:07:17.370 where rescues are common. 150 00:07:17.403 --> 00:07:20.173 We're getting ready to lower off this face here. 151 00:07:20.206 --> 00:07:23.743 And we're using skis to make anchors. 152 00:07:23.776 --> 00:07:25.912 And basically we dig a trench, 153 00:07:25.945 --> 00:07:27.280 put the skis in that trench. 154 00:07:27.313 --> 00:07:29.215 And then the skis with the snow 155 00:07:29.248 --> 00:07:32.251 is strong enough to hold a large load. 156 00:07:35.021 --> 00:07:36.422 Urban: We're just finishing up 157 00:07:36.456 --> 00:07:38.458 with the lowering activities for the day. 158 00:07:38.491 --> 00:07:41.594 And we're moving into working on some snow shelters 159 00:07:41.627 --> 00:07:44.831 when I'm getting a board page. 160 00:07:44.864 --> 00:07:46.833 Narrator: A board page is the initial emergency call 161 00:07:46.866 --> 00:07:50.303 that goes out to all the search and rescue board members. 162 00:07:56.375 --> 00:07:59.479 And it's Dr. AJ Wheeler's signal to race to the hangar 163 00:07:59.512 --> 00:08:01.948 and take over as incident commander. 164 00:08:01.981 --> 00:08:04.917 Wheeler: Hey, this is Dr. Wheeler from search and rescue. 165 00:08:04.951 --> 00:08:06.319 Good, thanks. 166 00:08:06.352 --> 00:08:09.188 Narrator: His busy schedule kept him out of training today. 167 00:08:09.222 --> 00:08:10.556 But he'll assist by overseeing 168 00:08:10.590 --> 00:08:13.025 the team's response to this call-out. 169 00:08:13.059 --> 00:08:15.094 Without Dr. Wheeler on the scene, 170 00:08:15.127 --> 00:08:16.529 the team is counting on Jake 171 00:08:16.562 --> 00:08:18.431 and his paramedic wife, Marilynn, 172 00:08:18.464 --> 00:08:19.966 to take the medical lead 173 00:08:19.999 --> 00:08:23.069 on a potentially lethal femur fracture. 174 00:08:23.102 --> 00:08:27.974 Davis: The broken bones can nick any of the arteries or veins. 175 00:08:28.007 --> 00:08:29.408 It was a bad injury. 176 00:08:29.442 --> 00:08:31.110 It's a tough working condition 177 00:08:31.143 --> 00:08:33.412 when someone's in that kind of pain. 178 00:08:38.451 --> 00:08:39.619 Powered by RAM Trucks, Americas longest lasting pickups. 179 00:08:40.386 --> 00:08:41.921 Narrator: Teton County Search and Rescue training 180 00:08:41.954 --> 00:08:43.856 is interrupted by the real thing 181 00:08:43.890 --> 00:08:45.458 when a call for help comes in 182 00:08:45.491 --> 00:08:47.260 while most of the team is 12 miles away 183 00:08:47.293 --> 00:08:50.763 from the hangar up on Teton Pass. 184 00:08:50.796 --> 00:08:52.164 So the heli is dispatched 185 00:08:52.198 --> 00:08:53.733 to pick up medical first responders 186 00:08:53.766 --> 00:08:55.268 who rush to the scene. 187 00:08:55.301 --> 00:08:56.736 King: We just got a call-out 188 00:08:56.769 --> 00:09:01.274 for an injured snowmobiler down in the Fall Creek area. 189 00:09:01.307 --> 00:09:03.376 We believe he or she has a broken femur 190 00:09:03.409 --> 00:09:05.611 at this point. Weather's moving in. 191 00:09:05.645 --> 00:09:07.580 But it's looking pretty good south. 192 00:09:07.613 --> 00:09:12.018 So the plan right now is AJ is IC. 193 00:09:12.051 --> 00:09:13.319 Wheeler: Hey, this is Dr. Wheeler 194 00:09:13.352 --> 00:09:14.520 from search and rescue. 195 00:09:14.554 --> 00:09:16.255 Narrator: As incident commander, AJ will oversee 196 00:09:16.289 --> 00:09:18.457 the medical team working in the field. 197 00:09:18.491 --> 00:09:21.761 Unfortunately, communications get off to a rocky start. 198 00:09:23.763 --> 00:09:25.131 Wheeler: There's always confusion 199 00:09:25.164 --> 00:09:26.532 at the beginning of a TCSAR call. 200 00:09:26.566 --> 00:09:29.068 We have very little good information. 201 00:09:29.101 --> 00:09:31.370 Narrator: All AJ knows is there's an injured snowmobiler 202 00:09:31.404 --> 00:09:35.041 whose life may depend on a quick helicopter evacuation. 203 00:09:35.074 --> 00:09:37.343 But now bursts of wind and snow 204 00:09:37.376 --> 00:09:39.745 create sketchy flying conditions. 205 00:09:39.779 --> 00:09:42.181 King: It's not looking good, so we'll see. 206 00:09:42.214 --> 00:09:43.616 Man: Copy that. 207 00:09:43.649 --> 00:09:45.384 King: We've flown in worse. I'll just put it that way. 208 00:09:45.418 --> 00:09:48.287 Narrator: AJ is one of the team's best backcountry doctors. 209 00:09:48.321 --> 00:09:50.823 But he can't make it into the field for this one. 210 00:09:50.856 --> 00:09:53.025 So AJ makes sure Jake and the heli team 211 00:09:53.059 --> 00:09:54.994 are ready to answer this call. 212 00:10:08.074 --> 00:10:10.476 That means volunteer paramedic Marilynn Davis 213 00:10:10.509 --> 00:10:12.044 is officially on her first call 214 00:10:12.078 --> 00:10:14.113 as the team's medical lead with Jake 215 00:10:14.146 --> 00:10:17.817 and Anthony there to help. 216 00:10:17.850 --> 00:10:20.386 Davis: I'm a brand-new paramedic, one year in, 217 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:22.955 just came off probation like a month ago. 218 00:10:22.989 --> 00:10:25.891 We're flying overhead. It's a bumpy flight. 219 00:10:25.925 --> 00:10:28.594 So I was already nervous. 220 00:10:42.508 --> 00:10:43.943 Anthony and I got dropped off. 221 00:10:43.976 --> 00:10:48.447 Jake went back to reconfigure the helicopter. 222 00:10:48.481 --> 00:10:50.483 Narrator: Jake's job is to fly to the hangar, 223 00:10:50.516 --> 00:10:52.518 pull out the seats and transform the heli 224 00:10:52.551 --> 00:10:54.153 into an airborne ambulance 225 00:10:54.186 --> 00:10:57.223 where the patient can be transported lying down. 226 00:10:57.256 --> 00:10:59.759 But the upper-elevation winds are picking up. 227 00:10:59.792 --> 00:11:00.960 So there's no guarantee the heli 228 00:11:00.993 --> 00:11:02.795 will be able to make it back to the scene 229 00:11:02.828 --> 00:11:04.664 where Marilynn takes command. 230 00:11:04.697 --> 00:11:06.832 Davis: We approach. We say hi. 231 00:11:06.866 --> 00:11:09.802 I ask him his name and what's going on. 232 00:11:09.835 --> 00:11:12.271 And he says, "My leg is broken." 233 00:11:12.304 --> 00:11:17.043 And I see that his quadricep is the size of a soccer ball. 234 00:11:17.076 --> 00:11:19.345 And he didn't want to move. 235 00:11:19.378 --> 00:11:20.880 Stevens: He's been lying in the snow. 236 00:11:20.913 --> 00:11:22.882 So hypothermia's a real concern 237 00:11:22.915 --> 00:11:25.351 and also pain management. 238 00:11:25.384 --> 00:11:27.753 Narrator: For quick pain relief, Marilynn doses the patient 239 00:11:27.787 --> 00:11:29.355 through his nostrils. 240 00:11:29.388 --> 00:11:32.725 Then she focuses on the man's dropping body temperature. 241 00:11:32.758 --> 00:11:35.795 Davis: He had been sitting on the snow for maybe 45 minutes. 242 00:11:35.828 --> 00:11:39.598 And it was inconclusive whether the helicopter 243 00:11:39.632 --> 00:11:41.567 was gonna be able to make it back. 244 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.603 Getting him warmer immediately 245 00:11:44.637 --> 00:11:47.440 was the crux of the situation. 246 00:11:47.473 --> 00:11:48.741 Narrator: Marilynn and Anthony 247 00:11:48.774 --> 00:11:50.276 need to move the patient off the snow 248 00:11:50.309 --> 00:11:52.745 and into a position that stabilizes his leg. 249 00:11:52.778 --> 00:11:54.880 Davis: It was very clear what we needed to do. 250 00:11:54.914 --> 00:11:56.949 We needed to get him warm, 251 00:11:56.982 --> 00:12:00.486 get his leg splinted and go. 252 00:12:00.519 --> 00:12:02.421 Narrator: It's difficult to decide how to move him, 253 00:12:02.455 --> 00:12:04.190 because at this time, Marilynn and Anthony 254 00:12:04.223 --> 00:12:07.827 don't know exactly how the man's leg is broken. 255 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:10.029 Urban: There's many different ways to have a break. 256 00:12:10.062 --> 00:12:13.466 This individual had a spiral fracture. 257 00:12:13.499 --> 00:12:14.800 So not only did it break 258 00:12:14.834 --> 00:12:18.170 in a corkscrew around the femur bone. 259 00:12:18.204 --> 00:12:20.439 But then the head of the femur jammed itself 260 00:12:20.473 --> 00:12:23.209 and split the lower femur. 261 00:12:23.242 --> 00:12:24.577 Just the breaking of the bone, 262 00:12:24.610 --> 00:12:26.679 we expect folks to lose a liter of blood. 263 00:12:26.712 --> 00:12:29.215 And that's just enough to start putting people into shock. 264 00:12:29.248 --> 00:12:31.517 So the injury's bad enough. 265 00:12:31.550 --> 00:12:33.953 But you put shock on top of that, 266 00:12:33.986 --> 00:12:35.955 throw a little bit of cold and hypothermia into it, 267 00:12:35.988 --> 00:12:38.924 and you have a patient that's decompensating pretty quickly. 268 00:12:38.958 --> 00:12:41.293 Narrator: Back at the hangar, the team helps Jake reconfigure 269 00:12:41.327 --> 00:12:42.561 the heli with a stretcher, 270 00:12:42.595 --> 00:12:46.165 or litter as it's known in the backcountry. 271 00:12:46.198 --> 00:12:48.901 But high winds continue to whip the mountains outside of Jackson 272 00:12:48.934 --> 00:12:51.871 and create dangerous flying conditions. 273 00:12:51.904 --> 00:12:55.541 Davis: It was a dicey ride in on the helicopter. 274 00:12:55.574 --> 00:12:58.711 So we didn't know if we were gonna sit there 275 00:12:58.744 --> 00:13:01.814 and wait for a toboggan to come in on a snow machine 276 00:13:01.847 --> 00:13:05.251 or if the helicopter was coming back immediately. 277 00:13:05.284 --> 00:13:07.353 We don't know if the helicopter can make it back. 278 00:13:07.386 --> 00:13:09.355 And we don't know what time they're getting back. 279 00:13:09.388 --> 00:13:12.358 So we just have to sort of be self-sufficient for now. 280 00:13:17.196 --> 00:13:19.098 Narrator: Teton County Search and Rescue 281 00:13:19.131 --> 00:13:20.499 rookie paramedic Marilynn Davis 282 00:13:20.533 --> 00:13:23.469 needs to keep cool on her first mission as medical lead. 283 00:13:23.502 --> 00:13:25.671 Davis: We don't know if the helicopter can make it back. 284 00:13:25.704 --> 00:13:27.673 And we don't know what time they're getting back. 285 00:13:27.706 --> 00:13:30.242 So we just have to sort of be self-sufficient for now. 286 00:13:30.276 --> 00:13:33.012 So we need all hands on deck here, people. 287 00:13:33.045 --> 00:13:35.114 Narrator: Marilynn can't wait for the helicopter. 288 00:13:35.147 --> 00:13:37.016 It's time to move the patient off the snow. 289 00:13:37.049 --> 00:13:38.117 Davis: You ready? 290 00:13:38.150 --> 00:13:39.752 Stevens: Make sure you get a good grip. 291 00:13:39.785 --> 00:13:42.688 Man: Easy, easy, easy, easy. 292 00:13:42.721 --> 00:13:44.023 Nice work, dude. Yeah, dude. 293 00:13:44.056 --> 00:13:45.357 Yes. Perfect. 294 00:13:45.391 --> 00:13:47.059 Good work. Good job. 295 00:13:47.092 --> 00:13:49.962 Davis: You tell us if either of us touch anything that hurts, 296 00:13:49.995 --> 00:13:53.632 will you let us know? 297 00:13:53.666 --> 00:13:55.467 Narrator: Now it's up to the heli 298 00:13:55.501 --> 00:13:57.136 to get back to the rescue scene. 299 00:14:00.539 --> 00:14:01.941 But the search and rescue heli team 300 00:14:01.974 --> 00:14:04.810 decides to brave the dangerous flying conditions 301 00:14:04.844 --> 00:14:07.112 so an injured backcountry snowmobiler 302 00:14:07.146 --> 00:14:10.282 can get to the emergency room as quickly as possible. 303 00:14:19.191 --> 00:14:21.861 Urban: Once I arrived back on scene, 304 00:14:21.894 --> 00:14:25.097 it was all hands on deck in order to move this patient. 305 00:14:42.848 --> 00:14:45.985 These are the times when, as a search and rescue member, 306 00:14:46.018 --> 00:14:48.787 ultimately we kind of just sit back and organize a little bit. 307 00:14:48.821 --> 00:14:50.289 We let the civilians do the work. 308 00:14:50.322 --> 00:14:52.091 And that's really when it's powerful 309 00:14:52.124 --> 00:14:54.260 to see them doing the job. 310 00:14:56.528 --> 00:14:58.998 Davis: I know the boy's father. 311 00:14:59.031 --> 00:15:02.835 So I knew that I had helped a friend of mine's child. 312 00:15:02.868 --> 00:15:04.336 So that was cool. 313 00:15:04.370 --> 00:15:06.739 He was hanging in there 314 00:15:06.772 --> 00:15:09.508 and was talking and was super thankful. 315 00:15:09.541 --> 00:15:12.278 You know, we got him out quick. 316 00:15:12.311 --> 00:15:15.381 And I think the patient felt safe. 317 00:15:15.414 --> 00:15:17.516 Urban: I'm feeling really good about this scene. 318 00:15:17.549 --> 00:15:18.751 It's interesting. 319 00:15:18.784 --> 00:15:21.387 I've got two new members, one of which is my wife. 320 00:15:21.420 --> 00:15:22.655 We're still trying to figure out 321 00:15:22.688 --> 00:15:25.190 how we work together on the team. 322 00:15:25.224 --> 00:15:26.926 And it was kind of a perfect situation 323 00:15:26.959 --> 00:15:28.527 because it gives me an opportunity 324 00:15:28.560 --> 00:15:29.995 to focus on operations 325 00:15:30.029 --> 00:15:32.631 and the logistics of getting the patient out. 326 00:15:32.665 --> 00:15:34.300 It gives Marilynn an opportunity 327 00:15:34.333 --> 00:15:36.268 to step into a leadership role. 328 00:15:41.640 --> 00:15:44.743 Wheeler: To elevate the level of care that we're providing 329 00:15:44.777 --> 00:15:46.779 in the backcountry has been a big goal. 330 00:15:46.812 --> 00:15:49.315 And I think we're there. 331 00:15:56.388 --> 00:15:58.390 Narrator: Wind speeds in the Tetons can hit 332 00:15:58.424 --> 00:16:02.261 category-1 hurricane levels throughout the winter. 333 00:16:02.294 --> 00:16:03.462 This does more than create 334 00:16:03.495 --> 00:16:05.998 treacherous flying conditions for the heli. 335 00:16:06.031 --> 00:16:09.702 It also causes the snow to shift in hazardous ways. 336 00:16:09.735 --> 00:16:11.770 The more wind, the more dangers 337 00:16:11.804 --> 00:16:14.940 caused by snow loading over steep alpine features. 338 00:16:14.974 --> 00:16:18.644 One of the most lethal is a cornice. 339 00:16:18.677 --> 00:16:21.113 Urban: Ultimately, with cornice development, 340 00:16:21.146 --> 00:16:22.715 you have snow that builds up 341 00:16:22.748 --> 00:16:25.150 incrementally at such a slow rate 342 00:16:25.184 --> 00:16:28.954 that it's able to overhang the edge of the cliff. 343 00:16:28.988 --> 00:16:31.423 That overhanging feature breaks off 344 00:16:31.457 --> 00:16:34.660 and turns into a trap door. 345 00:16:34.693 --> 00:16:37.262 It's not a place we want to be hanging out. 346 00:16:55.714 --> 00:16:57.349 Narrator: The details of this emergency call-out 347 00:16:57.383 --> 00:16:58.484 are eerily similar 348 00:16:58.517 --> 00:17:00.419 to an incident just last winter. 349 00:17:00.452 --> 00:17:02.521 Urban: We had a carbon-copy rescue 350 00:17:02.554 --> 00:17:04.590 where an individual ducked the rope, 351 00:17:04.623 --> 00:17:06.025 stepped out over to the cornice, 352 00:17:06.058 --> 00:17:09.528 didn't realize that he was on an overhanging feature, 353 00:17:09.561 --> 00:17:11.597 and that feature broke. 354 00:17:11.630 --> 00:17:14.299 Lockhart: The guy basically fell off a 200-foot cliff 355 00:17:14.333 --> 00:17:17.236 and was alive, had some injuries. 356 00:17:17.269 --> 00:17:19.171 But he walked. And it was one of those things 357 00:17:19.204 --> 00:17:20.873 that you looked at a 200-foot cliff, 358 00:17:20.906 --> 00:17:22.741 and you're like, "There's no way that you could fall off of that 359 00:17:22.775 --> 00:17:24.510 and live, let alone walk away." 360 00:17:24.543 --> 00:17:27.179 And that's exactly what happened. 361 00:17:27.212 --> 00:17:29.248 Wheeler: Knowing that somebody has survived, 362 00:17:29.281 --> 00:17:32.051 maybe this is another chance to actually rescue somebody. 363 00:17:39.058 --> 00:17:39.324 It's time for zero. 364 00:17:41.393 --> 00:17:43.395 Teton County Search and Rescue's heli team 365 00:17:43.429 --> 00:17:44.730 responds to a call from help 366 00:17:44.763 --> 00:17:46.532 from Grand Targhee ski area, 367 00:17:46.565 --> 00:17:49.068 where a man has reportedly fallen through a cornice 368 00:17:49.101 --> 00:17:51.136 and tumbled down a 200-foot cliff. 369 00:17:57.076 --> 00:17:58.777 A man's life is on the line. 370 00:17:58.811 --> 00:18:01.447 So AJ pushes himself and his teammates 371 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:03.949 to deliver fast care in the backcountry. 372 00:18:08.687 --> 00:18:11.223 These are the moments the medical team trains for, 373 00:18:11.256 --> 00:18:14.760 when the odds appear stacked against the patient. 374 00:18:14.793 --> 00:18:17.729 Lockhart: He's not breathing, don't have a heart rate. 375 00:18:17.763 --> 00:18:20.099 Wheeler: We're trying to resuscitate them, 376 00:18:20.132 --> 00:18:23.435 trying to perform these life-saving measures. 377 00:18:23.469 --> 00:18:25.737 Everybody always wants to be on a rescue 378 00:18:25.771 --> 00:18:27.773 and not a recovery. 379 00:18:27.806 --> 00:18:30.142 Narrator: AJ has seen someone survive this fall before 380 00:18:30.175 --> 00:18:32.244 and fights hard to see it again. 381 00:18:36.081 --> 00:18:39.351 But he also knows there's no guarantee of a happy ending. 382 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:49.895 This time, the patient does not make it. 383 00:18:49.928 --> 00:18:53.732 He suffers severe blunt trauma to the head and torso 384 00:18:53.765 --> 00:18:55.868 and cannot be revived. 385 00:18:55.901 --> 00:18:57.836 Wheeler: We try to keep perspective. 386 00:18:57.870 --> 00:19:00.739 For us, the focus becomes not necessarily 387 00:19:00.772 --> 00:19:02.741 bringing that victim home alive. 388 00:19:02.774 --> 00:19:05.477 But we still have a job to do to bring them back 389 00:19:05.511 --> 00:19:06.678 to their loved ones 390 00:19:06.712 --> 00:19:09.948 and hopefully provide some comfort. 391 00:19:19.224 --> 00:19:23.128 It's never easy to be involved in a death. 392 00:19:23.162 --> 00:19:24.630 Being on this team, 393 00:19:24.663 --> 00:19:26.465 you see people that die in the mountains. 394 00:19:26.498 --> 00:19:28.934 You see friends that die in the mountains. 395 00:19:28.967 --> 00:19:30.769 It's disturbing sometimes. 396 00:19:33.539 --> 00:19:34.706 Pretty lucky to have a team 397 00:19:34.740 --> 00:19:37.943 that's focused on our team members. 398 00:19:37.976 --> 00:19:39.645 We're like an extended family. 399 00:19:39.678 --> 00:19:42.147 And so when we respond to a mission 400 00:19:42.181 --> 00:19:44.349 that winds up being a death and a body recovery, 401 00:19:44.383 --> 00:19:46.218 we'll have a formal debriefing session. 402 00:19:46.251 --> 00:19:49.054 We'll sit down and talk about particularly difficult cases. 403 00:19:49.087 --> 00:19:52.858 And, occasionally, people just need a break from things. 404 00:19:55.727 --> 00:19:58.697 All through high school and college, I was a runner. 405 00:19:58.730 --> 00:20:00.465 Given the busy lives that we have, 406 00:20:00.499 --> 00:20:02.801 being able to get out on the trail 407 00:20:02.834 --> 00:20:04.436 and just zone out, 408 00:20:04.469 --> 00:20:06.572 be together with your own thoughts 409 00:20:06.605 --> 00:20:08.574 is a great feeling, 410 00:20:08.607 --> 00:20:12.044 kind of solace for the soul. 411 00:20:12.077 --> 00:20:14.613 My wife and my kids, they don't seem to think twice 412 00:20:14.646 --> 00:20:16.081 when I walk out the door 413 00:20:16.114 --> 00:20:18.483 because it's assumed that you're gonna come back. 414 00:20:18.517 --> 00:20:21.053 And some of the stuff we do is risky. 415 00:20:24.022 --> 00:20:25.891 Death is always difficult to deal with. 416 00:20:25.924 --> 00:20:30.629 But I don't feel like our team views it as a failure. 417 00:20:30.662 --> 00:20:35.033 I think, emotionally, the team probably feels more sadness.