Helicopter Operations
Helicopters have been utilized at ski/recreation areas for many years to assist in the rapid evacuation and expeditious transport of critically injured or ill patients to an elevated care facility.
Helicopter Operations at Pajarito Mountain is a year-round program. During the annual Ski Patrol fall Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) Refresher, patrollers are trained how to:
Request a helicopter to transport a critically injured or ill patient
Set-up and maintain the primary mountain landing zone (LZ)
Perform LZ inspections prior to the arrival of helicopter - this also forms part of our daily set up using the snow mobile.
Communicate with the aircrew while they are enroute to the LZ, provide landing zone weather information and convey landing zone surface/texture information
Safe working in a landing zone
Patrollers are also trained in how to…
Interface with the flight crew and provide a safe, efficient and timely patient transfer
Safety assist the flight crew with loading a patient into a medical transport helicopter
…and finally how to…
Assist the helicopter crew in the departure and if needed with a post-departure return to the landing zone to perform an emergency landing.
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