Grand Teton National Park, WY – National Park rangers in Wyoming on Monday night rescued a pair of lost snowboarders who had ventured out of bounds from Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) unprepared for their ordeal.

Joe Tauro, 55, of Brick, and Mike Fasciolli, 36, of Toms River, both in New Jersey, left the patrolled and controlled slopes of JHMR at around 3 p.m. on Monday via an access gate without proper avalanche gear or prepared to spend the night in the backcountry. While intending to head toward Rock Springs Bowl, the pair instead headed in the wrong direction and ended up in Granite Canyon, within Grand Teton National Park. JHMR ski patrollers first received notification that they needed help around 7 p.m. Teton County Search and Rescue was notified, and members of that team were able to ping the GPS location of the pair from their cell phone and determine that they were in the park’s backcountry.

The Teton Interagency Dispatch Center was notified of the out-of-bounds boarders at 7:30 p.m.  Rangers were able to communicate directly with the duo via cell phone and determine that a search and rescue response was needed based on a medical condition of one of the two men, combined with their inadequate preparation for backcountry travel. Rangers used a snowmobile to access the mouth of Granite Canyon and reached the pair around 10 p.m. at a location in the lower canyon.

“Although the snowboarders were not injured or in need of medical aid, they lacked winter backcountry experience and did not possess food, water, lights or the appropriate avalanche gear,” the Park Service said in a statement released on Wednesday. “The Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Center reported the general avalanche hazard for February 13th to be ‘moderate’ above the 9,000 foot level and ‘low’ for low elevations (6,000-7,500 feet). Backcountry users were also cautioned to be prepared with appropriate emergency equipment and the knowledge and skill of how to use such gear before attempting a winter excursion.”