News Release

Hiker falls from Teewinot resulting in fatality

NPS Photo/C. Adams

News Release Date: August 11, 2023

Contact: Valerie Gohlke, 307-739-3393

Contact: C.J. Adams, 307-739-3431

MOOSE, WY — Park rangers responded before dawn on Friday, August 11, to a report of a hiker who fell off the west side of Teewinot, part of the Teton Range, inside Grand Teton National Park. Rangers found Joy Cho of Simi Valley, California, had succumbed to significant injuries during the fall and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Cho’s body was short hauled from the scene and turned over to the Teton County Coroner’s Office. Her seven hiking companions were flown to the Jenny Lake Search and Rescue Cache at Lupine Meadows and transported back to their vehicles at the trailhead.

Grand Teton National Park employees extend their condolences to the Cho family and friends.


Short haul is a technique where an individual or gear is suspended below a helicopter on a 150-to-250-foot rope. This method allows rescuers more direct access to an injured party, and it is often used in the Teton Range, where conditions make it difficult to land a helicopter in the steep and rocky terrain.