JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Alaska Army National Guard Soldiers with G Co., 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion rescued an injured skier, March 27, in the Tordrillo Mountains at the base of Mount Torbert located 10 miles north of Mount Spurr.
The mission was opened in response to a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers and was routed through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and then passed to the AKARNG. The team dispatched an HH-60M Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter from Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson at approximately 11:20 a.m., and the crew flew 77 miles west of the airfield to the base of Mount Torbert.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 JD Miller, the pilot in command for the mission said his crew knew exactly what they were flying into after receiving high-visibility photos and a video from the professional skiing team that had established a base camp on site. The skiers also dug out a 10-by-12-foot platform on the slope where the skier was located and requested a long line hoist capable evacuation asset.
“They knew what they were doing and were the most adequately prepared group that we have ever seen,” Miller said. “We anticipated having to create that platform ourselves, and it made our jobs a lot easier and saved us vital time.”
The aviators arrived 40 minutes after takeoff and executed a total of four climbing hoists from 4,900 ft. elevation. The crew flew up from the base of the valley to a position 130 feet above the patient. The HH-60M is equipped with an externally mounted hoist that makes the process expedient for search and rescue crews.
“This maneuver is something we’ve become comfortable with to minimize the exposure to the patient group below,” Miller said. “We always aim at keeping the impact of rotor flow to a minimum to keep conditions optimal for the patient.”
The crew began by hoisting down two critical care flight paramedics followed by a piece of extraction equipment called the air rescue vest. After conducting pain management on the skier, the crew hoisted him up with one of the medics and executed a final hoist to get the last Army Guard medic on board.
The flight paramedics Staff Sgts. Steven Gildersleeve and Matt Tucker provided in-flight care to the skier, carefully monitoring his vital signs and pain levels and establishing an IV.
Miller and his co-pilot, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Bradley Jorgensen, landed the aircraft on the helipad at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage and passed him on to medical professionals on site before returning to JBER.
The crew made careful considerations during the mission to account for fuel. The aviators had an additional helicopter on standby at Bryant to make an expedient patient transfer in case it was needed.
“The configuration of the aircraft was a factor with no external fuel tanks,” Miller said. “Fuel was in the back of our minds, and we anticipated we would have about 25 to 30 minutes to execute this mission successfully, accounting for the flights there and back, with loiter time at Providence.”
The pilots and flight paramedics were assisted by crew chiefs, Sgt. First Class Brad Mckenzie and Sgt. Josh Goetz, who is well versed in the art of hoist work and flight safety.
“It was an all hands-on-deck effort, and we had a ton of support from our maintenance team when the call came in,” Miller said. “We’re grateful for this opportunity and we’d like to wish the skier a speedy recovery.”
Lt. Col. Brendon Holbrook, the commander for the AKARNG’s 207th Aviation Troop Command, expressed his gratitude for his team’s efforts and emphasized the importance of missions like this to enhance his aviator’s skillsets.
“We had the right people at the right time and the training we’ve completed enabled us to complete this real-world mission,” Holbrook said.
The Tordrillos are a volcanic range that includes Mount Spurr, the southernmost peak of the mountains that last erupted in 1992 and has been showing escalating activity for months. The Alaska Volcano Observatory predicts a new eruption could be likely.
For the mission, 2-211th GSAB was awarded one save.