Park Rescue Crews Busy Saturday

Grand Teton National Park staff rescued three injured hikers over the weekend.  Teton Interagency Dispatch Center received a call regarding an injured hiker above the three-mile junction on the Surprise/Amphitheater trail on Saturday at about 2:15 pm. 31-year-old New York resident Jeremy Fraser was hiking when he had a misstep and injured his lower leg and was unable to move on his own. Rangers determined Fraser would need to be transported to the Lupine Meadows parking area by trail wheel litter. From there, his hiking partner transported Fraser to St. John’s Heath in Jackson. A few hours later, Teton Interagency Dispatch received another emergency call about 7:30 pm regarding an injured hiker who fell about 500 feet down steep snow on the east slopes of Paintbrush Divide. Grand Blanc, Michigan residents Samantha Edgcombe and Mackenzie Finton, both 19, were hiking from Cascade Canyon to Paintbrush Canyon over Paintbrush Divide when they each slipped on snow and slid, crashing into large rocks. Another hiker in the area called for help and provided a GPS location.  Initially it was believed only one of the hikers was significantly injured, but in fact, both were.  The Teton Interagency helicopter transported two rangers to the area and each hiker was short-hauled with a ranger to Lupine Meadows, and then transported via park ambulance to St. John’s Health Care. Park officials caution that higher elevation mountain trails still involve a large amount of snow travel. Appropriate footwear and an ice axe are mandatory.

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