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Becoming injured, lost, cold or tired while in the backcountry can leave a person very concerned and looking for help getting out of their predicament. Typically, the person in trouble wants an immediate resolution. In some cases a helicopter extraction is warranted, but that is a rarity.
The Summit County Rescue Group has a few options for air support. Primarily we use Flight for Life and, less often, the High-Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site. The aircraft provided by both these organizations offer vastly different capabilities and the difference in aircraft size means different landing zone parameters. The rescue group’s mission coordinator needs to understand the precise nature of the situation. Are we dealing with an injury, illness, lost person or missing person?
In general, helicopter operations are used for life and limb critical situations, although they may also be used in search operations or if there is a serious concern for rescuer safety.
Helicopter operational variables include: the closest landing zone, the exact nature of the search and rescue operation, weather in the operational area, whether a helicopter on another run or out of commission for maintenance, how long would it take to extract the patient via ground operations and what is the risk to the patient, and how long will it take to obtain permission for an operation.
In general, Flight for Life approval is more expeditious than the National Guard. All discussions may include the mission coordinator, Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Search and Rescue, Flight for Life operations, and the Army National Guard headquarters on both the East Coast and in the state. Approval can take anywhere from minutes to over an hour, and response times, likewise, will vary.
