GTNP Launches First Rescue of the Winter

Two New Jersey snowboarders became the subjects of a multiple agency search and rescue Monday.  The two reportedly left the boundary of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort at about 3:00 pm, intending to access Rock Springs Bowl to the north.   Shortly before 6:00 pm, Jackson Hole Ski Patrol was notified that 55-year-old Joe Tarou of Brick, New Jersey and 36-year-old Mike Fasciolli of Toms River, New Jersey were missing.  They in turn referred the call to Teton County Search and Rescue.  Grand Teton National Park Spokesperson Jenny Anzelmo says the county search and rescue then determined from the GPS location provided by the pair’s cell phone that they had mistakenly gone into Granite Canyon in the Park, and at about 7:30 pm, the county then notified the Park’s search and rescue team of the situation.  Considering a pre-existing health condition of one of the snowboarders, Anzelmo says a search effort was launched immediately.  The rescuers contacted the two by cell phone and located them shortly thereafter at the mouth of the canyon.  Anzelmo says the pair had no back country experience and was inadequately prepared with no food, water, headlamp, or avalanche beacon.  This marks the first back country operation this winter for the park staff.