Wasatch Backcountry Rescue

Saving Lives in Utah’s Backcountry

For more than 45 years, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue (WBR) has provided life-saving avalanche rescue and recovery services throughout Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and beyond. Founded in 1977, WBR is a nonprofit organization made up of more than 500 dedicated volunteers and over 40 highly trained search-and-rescue dogs.

Our rescue teams—men, women, and their canine partners—train year-round, often spending countless hours testing, practicing, and preparing for the moment a call for help comes in. When an avalanche or backcountry emergency occurs, every minute matters. Our teams are ready to respond day or night, often in severe weather and difficult terrain, with one goal: to bring people home safely.

Training Before the Emergency

Rescue begins long before the call comes in.

WBR is committed not only to responding to emergencies, but also to preventing them. We educate backcountry users about avalanche awareness, safe winter travel, snowpack evaluation, and self-rescue techniques. By helping people understand the risks of traveling in avalanche terrain and equipping them with the knowledge to make informed decisions, we work to prevent accidents and save lives before an emergency happens.

Our canine teams undergo rigorous training to maintain a high standard of readiness and professionalism. WBR has hosted rescue-dog training schools and welcomed teams from throughout the western United States, Canada, and Europe, sharing knowledge and techniques that strengthen avalanche rescue capabilities far beyond Utah.

Why Our Work Matters

Utah’s Wasatch and Uinta Mountains attract thousands of people to the backcountry each year. The region’s abundant powder snow, steep terrain, and easy access create extraordinary opportunities for recreation—but they also bring serious avalanche risks.

Inside ski resorts, professional ski patrol teams monitor terrain, weather, and hazards. Beyond resort boundaries, backcountry travelers must take responsibility for recognizing changing conditions and making safe decisions.

When an avalanche occurs, the victim’s best chance of survival is a rapid rescue—ideally by members of their own group. But when that isn’t possible, WBR is ready to respond.

WBR brings together professional ski patrols and other trained personnel from across the region. Teams from Snowbird, Alta, Solitude, Brighton, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Wasatch Peaks Ranch, Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, the Utah Department of Transportation, and Wasatch Powderbird Guides train and respond together as a coordinated rescue organization.

When a backcountry emergency is reported through 9-1-1, local dispatchers and county authorities activate WBR. Rescue teams then mobilize, often traveling by skis into remote avalanche terrain and challenging weather conditions.

The Power of a Trained Dog

Time is critical in an avalanche rescue.

Our search-and-rescue dogs are trained to locate people buried beneath avalanche debris quickly and efficiently. Their extraordinary sense of smell allows a single canine team to search large areas of debris far more rapidly than a large group of rescuers using probes alone.

Just as importantly, our dogs help reduce the number of rescuers who must enter unstable or hazardous avalanche terrain.

Behind every successful canine team is a highly trained handler, years of preparation, and countless hours of teamwork.

Your Support Helps Us Stay Ready

Every rescue begins with preparation.

Your support helps WBR train and equip our volunteer rescuers and canine teams, provide ongoing education to the public, and maintain the readiness required to respond when someone’s life is at risk.

Our volunteers don’t know when the next call will come. They only know that when it does, they need to be ready.

For more than four decades, Wasatch Backcountry Rescue has answered that call. With your support, we can continue to train, respond, educate, and save lives in Utah’s backcountry.