Mountain Rescues

When I worked as a Jenny Lake climbing ranger in Grand Teton National Park, I would often take my dinner over to the west porch of the rescue cache.  Our cabins were nestled along Cottonwood Creek on the east side of Lupine Meadows and from my evening vantage, I could watch the constellation of stars set beyond Teewinot, Nez Perce, and Buck Mountain.  It was common to see the flickering headlamps of those returning from a long outing in the range.  I knew how they usually felt as they stumbled down the trail - happy, tired, hungry, longing for a beer.

The Park employs up to twenty climbing rangers in the summer to assist with those needing help in the mountains.  Occasionally, we are called to gather up the remains of a climber that won't make it home.  It's just the nature of the job.  

There is an elegant line in the mandate for the national parks in regards to rescue and recovery missions.  "The national parks are authorized to conduct rescue operations."  What this means is that rescue teams are not required to conduct the rescue or recovery mission.  An incident commander, or SAR (search and rescue) coordinator takes many things into consideration before sending her colleagues into harms way for others.  The weight that she carries is not insignificant.

This day and age, climbers have all kinds of communication devices to sing out for help in the event things are not going their way.  Not long ago, a team used their cell phone to reach out to Tom Kimbrough, the designated search and rescue coordinator for the night. 

We need help, we're on the upper Exum Ridge, they said.
Is everyone OK?, Kimbrough asked. 
Yes, we're all ok.
Are you on a good ledge?, Kimbrough asked.
Yes, a good ledge.
Well, it's a beautiful night.  It's a night you'll never forget.  We'll see you in the morning.  

It's not always like this.
In July of 2010, we heard a call from dispatch over the radio.  

"This is a page for the Jenny Lake Rangers.  We've had multiple reports of 17 people struck by lightning near the summit of the Grand Teton. Please respond."
And so we did.