A Whole New Level

On his first expedition to Denali, Keegan Young, Teton County Search and Rescue Foundation’s executive director, had literal days to contemplate his future while waiting out a snowstorm in a tent.

“I said, ‘I don’t like this type of climbing and expedition,’” Keegan remembers with a laugh. “A few years later I’m doing it again.”

Since then he’s been back to Denali twice, most recently this past May. Curiously, his fledgling trip up North America’s tallest peak was his only successful summit. On the next two attempts he was forced to descend early when his partners succumbed to altitude sickness at 17,000 vertical feet.

“I thought, ‘Move light and fast,’ but the X factor has always been the altitude,” Keegan says. “I’ve had a great time out there, but I can’t watch my friends get sick because we’re going too fast.”

Keegan might be done with Denali (for now), but he is far from done with the great outdoors. In November 2023, he joined the TCSAR Foundation as its second leader, taking over for founding executive Stephanie Thomas after 13 years. 

The nonprofit raises money and support for nearly 40 volunteers and four full-time staff at the rescue group.

“I’m enamored with the commitment of the staff and board of directors,” Keegan says of his new home. “They have a sincere passion for helping the community and ensuring these dedicated volunteers have what they need to serve. And I’m enamored with the partnership, how the program and Foundation really work together to make one plus one equal three.”

Some of Keegan’s earliest memories are making trips from his home state of Idaho to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone National Park. He worked at the Tulsa Zoo after graduating college, and then moved to Colorado for a gig with the American Alpine Club. Most recently, he was CEO of the Colorado Mountain Club. 

And then, the Tetons came calling.

“I don’t need to buy a plane ticket to Alaska or Nepal for a while,” Keegan says. “Being in the Tetons now, I have so much to explore right here.”

Like other rescue groups across the West, the Teton County volunteers are busier than ever. They are on call 24/7, all year long, and most recently logged a collective 10,000-plus hours through missions, trainings and outreach.

“This is a whole new level from what I’ve seen,” Keegan says. “The diversity of training really matches the diversity of this environment we’re in. We’re used to hearing about skiing and climbing rescues. But when I moved here it was horse packing, paddling, snowmobiling, the side-by-side motorized vehicles — this team is trained to deal with it all.”

As demand for rescue grows, TCSAR Foundation is growing. In less than a year the nonprofit helped raise $7.25 million for Teton County’s first wholly-owned rescue helicopter.

One of Keegan's initial tasks is to support the volunteer SAR team in welcoming 42 nations to Jackson next year, when the International Commission on Alpine Rescue conducts its annual conference here in October 2025. The volunteers and staff have already spent months in preparation and planning.  

This winter, you’ll find Young keeping (most of) his adventures low angle. His wife, Brooke, herself an experienced mountaineer, is now an avid Nordic skier.

“We discovered Nordic skiing during our first winter here,” Keegan says. “I would spend Saturday going to the resort for skiing, then every Sunday Brooke and I would go out on our classic Nordic skis. It was this new thing we discovered thanks to this community and the people we met here.”