2022 Helicopter Rescue - Teton County Elk Hunt

[wapitibob]

Hunting partner got lost in ID on an Elk hunt in the early 80's. Rain/snow miserable conditions and he had no gear what so ever. Next day the 3rd guy in our party called search and rescue. The sar guy stated the chopper was $700/hr and asked who was gonna pay for it. It didn't leave the ground till #3 said he'd pay.

 

[f16jack]

Come on. Those guys could have put you on the stretcher! That’s BS they made you crawl to the helicopter.

I pay both the “insurances” for the InReach; would you mind going into the details of how all that was handled? I’m often on Kodiak and I can imagine a lot of situations where the Coast Guard is coming for me guns a blazing!

There are other companies like GlobalRescue.com that have worldwide evac/transport. You would have to compare their cost and coverage to the insurance that is optional with the InReach.

 

[f16jack]

Hunting partner got lost in ID on an Elk hunt in the early 80's. Rain/snow miserable conditions and he had no gear what so ever. Next day the 3rd guy in our party called search and rescue. The sar guy stated the chopper was $700/hr and asked who was gonna pay for it. It didn't leave the ground till #3 said he'd pay.

Insurance is nice. Here is an article that talks a little of the cost of rescue across the U.S.. https://www.themanual.com/outdoors/search-and-rescue-guide/
Remember, you may be in New Zealand and use your Garmin InReach. Who knows the cost there? This is where Global SAR coverage comes in handy.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Insurance is nice. Here is an article that talks a little of the cost of rescue across the U.S.. https://www.themanual.com/outdoors/search-and-rescue-guide/
Remember, you may be in New Zealand and use your Garmin InReach. Who knows the cost there? This is where Global SAR coverage comes in handy.

I don’t believe colorados SAR fee that is added to a license covers a helicopter ride but I wish it did.

Also curious, does that SAR fee get applied to anybody besides hunters? I bet Colorado hikers require more SAR calls than hunters based on the number of hikers and the length of hiking season, plus all the 14ers.


Not sure why I quoted your post, just thinking out loud here.

 

[f16jack]

I don’t believe colorados SAR fee that is added to a license covers a helicopter ride but I wish it did.

Also curious, does that SAR fee get applied to anybody besides hunters? I bet Colorado hikers require more SAR calls than hunters based on the number of hikers and the length of hiking season, plus all the 14ers.


Not sure why I quoted your post, just thinking out loud here.

The Colorado SAR fee is paid by anyone who purchases fishing or hunting licenses, or registers an off-highway vehicle, boat, or snowmobile. So, it covers many who use the outdoors.

 

[f16jack]

Last month I had the director of the Teton County SAR on a morning show that I run. I made this video as the intro to her presentation.
She was very informative. I have attached a short summary of her talk.
Our morning group is lsdm-parkcity.com. We have presenters two to three times a week on any topic imaginable, from anywhere around the globe. We've had over 650 so far.

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

Thanks for the note.
The lift was no cost to me.
Here's how it works:
1. Every state has its own methods of conducting SAR.
2. In Wyoming, SAR is the responsibility of each country Sheriff.
3. The Sheriff has a budget for SAR.
4. Volunteer organizations, like the Teton County SAR, assist the Sheriff and may receive funding and support from him.
5. The Sheriff has no ability to bill or receive payment for any services provided.

So - I got injured, used the Garmin InReach to call for extract, and the request was routed to several of the closest agencies that might assist. Teton county said they could do it, and the Teton Country SAR (a volunteer organization), with an available forest service helicopter that is not dedicated to them, headed up the rescue.

The first person that had me sign a form related to insurance or payment was the ambulance when we landed the helicopter at the SAR HQ north of Jackson. The driver said, "if you want transport to the hospital please sign here." My response was "well, I'm not walking and I don't see any taxis, so I guess I'd better sign."

California operates the same way. SAR volunteer services are free to the subject and operate through the county Sheriff.

 

[f16jack]

California operates the same way. SAR volunteer services are free to the subject and operate through the county Sheriff.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Macintosh]

Stumbled into this. Hope you have recovered, and thanks for sharing. Have had the pleasure of working with several sar groups including TCSAR. They run a great organization. In my previous job we supplied both equipment and some training to TCSAR and other similar groups, usually at a very significant discount (basically our cost as a manufacturer) and also donated some $ as well as various equipment used for their fundraising events, and provided some training to their responders on the use of several of our products. I think a lot of the companies in those industries do similar as way to give back to the community that supports them. Most of these SAR orgs are operated under the auspices of a public org of some sort--sheriff, state police, forest service, park service or similar, all of which have public funding but in a limited way--but most also have "friends of" organizations specifically to fundraise for the organization to get the neccessary equipment and training as well as cover operating costs. I think the mix of who they rescue varies considerably depending on the exact location and the season, Jackson gets a lot of hikers rescued but also backcountry skiers, lots of snowmobilers, hunters, etc. Around me it's largely hikers, with a solid smattering of backcountry skiers, but also hunters do make up a good portion. I think in many locations people often talk about billing recipients, but that is often quashed becasue the areas these SAR groups are typically working in have economies that are heavily dependent on outdoor recreation, so this is seen to a degree as a cost of doing business in that sector, similar to how a firefighter who pulls you out of a car on the interstate doesnt bill you for that service, it's often the road transport to hospital that is the first service you get billed for. That's not at all universally true, but it's fairly common. when I worked in switzerland I climbed and backcountry skied on weekends usually, and carried REGA insurance so any helicopter ride would be covered.

 

[f16jack]

Stumbled into this. Hope you have recovered, and thanks for sharing. Have had the pleasure of working with several sar groups including TCSAR. They run a great organization. In my previous job we supplied both equipment and some training to TCSAR and other similar groups, usually at a very significant discount (basically our cost as a manufacturer) and also donated some $ as well as various equipment used for their fundraising events, and provided some training to their responders on the use of several of our products. I think a lot of the companies in those industries do similar as way to give back to the community that supports them. Most of these SAR orgs are operated under the auspices of a public org of some sort--sheriff, state police, forest service, park service or similar, all of which have public funding but in a limited way--but most also have "friends of" organizations specifically to fundraise for the organization to get the neccessary equipment and training as well as cover operating costs. I think the mix of who they rescue varies considerably depending on the exact location and the season, Jackson gets a lot of hikers rescued but also backcountry skiers, lots of snowmobilers, hunters, etc. Around me it's largely hikers, with a solid smattering of backcountry skiers, but also hunters do make up a good portion. I think in many locations people often talk about billing recipients, but that is often quashed becasue the areas these SAR groups are typically working in have economies that are heavily dependent on outdoor recreation, so this is seen to a degree as a cost of doing business in that sector, similar to how a firefighter who pulls you out of a car on the interstate doesnt bill you for that service, it's often the road transport to hospital that is the first service you get billed for. That's not at all universally true, but it's fairly common. when I worked in switzerland I climbed and backcountry skied on weekends usually, and carried REGA insurance so any helicopter ride would be covered.

Mac - thanks for the note. We appreciate the support that your org gives to the SAR community.

 

[Daltonlovins88]

Sweet video

 

[9.1]

Suicide Is Painless was a great touch. I'm going to have to go pull out the M*A*S*H DVDs now.

 

[Jr4]

Not every elk hunt ends up as you might like. Mine ended up with a helicopter extract.

I had to fly my dad off a mountain in Colorado last year, definitely not something I ever expected to do, severely broken leg

 

[11boo]

10k + plus for the hunt?

 

[f16jack]

10k + plus for the hunt?

Wyoming allows residents to take 2 non-resident friends with them at cost only each year. Luckily I've a good friend.

 

[GotDraw?]

Love using the MASH song

@MJB

But do you know the words?

...but suicide is painless, it brings on many changes. The game of life is hard to play, I'm gonna lose it any way... but I can take or leave it as I please....

JL

 

[f16jack]

@MJB

But do you know the words?

...but suicide is painless, it brings on many changes. The game of life is hard to play, I'm gonna lose it any way... but I can take or leave it as I please....

I put it in because of it's history in MASH. The orginal movie had a requirement for a song titled "Suicide is Painless" for the Last Supper scene for a faux-suicide event. The song was supposed to be "the stupidest song ever written." The lyrics were written in 5 minutes by the song author's 15 year old son. Wikipedia article here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_Is_Painless

 

[f16jack]

WTH was up with the backwards crawling?

They offered to carry me to the chopper, but I was more comfortable with them just holding my leg up off the ground. Less likely to drop to the ground if I'm already on it.