Flying

Well, now I can officially say that flying in a helicopter is superior to jury duty. After missing my first opportunity to go on a training flight with the Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team because I was compelled to fulfill my civic duty, Andy and I drove up to Taylor's Landing (the SC Sheriff's heliport) and hitched a ride on the 1974 Huey that is their aerial workhorse for Search And Rescue missions.

We spent some time going through a variety of hoist procedures on the ground, in the hangar, while waiting for some weather to move through the area. Once done, we rolled the heli out onto the pad and strapped in. Andy and I were passengers, but had flight helmets with radios and were able to listen in on the comms and ask questions if we had them. The 15 minute flight to the training area was excellent -- I couldn't help but be reminded of Vietnam War movies as we flew.

Once at the training area, the Rescue Technicians (the same position Andy & I are applying for) were lowered to the ground on the hoist, along with their gear. The pilot then set it down and we got out. The crew ran through four rotations of hoist lifts, using a litter, a "screamer" suit (basically a reinforced nylon blanket with hard-point lifting rings) and a strop (like a horse-collar that you'd lift a swimmer with). Andy and I were used as the subjects for the screamer suit and I got hauled up in the strop -- super fun, if also just a tiny bit disconcerting.

There'll be a lot more of these trainings coming, if we're accepted onto the team. Looking good so far!

Searching

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Two-climbers-missing-near-Alpental-83759752.html

I can't really go into much detail about things, but the highlight of my weekend was being involved in the effort to help track these guys down and get them out safe. Feels good to be doing this kind of work again.

Finally Skiing - A Two Tour Weekend

It has been a fairly dismal snow year here in the Pacific Northwest. Our passes to the Snoqualmie resorts lie crisp and fresh, untouched, in our helmets. Amid the organized chaos of involvement with 3 or 4 Search And Rescue teams between the two of us, we've had precious little time to use those passes, even if there had been snow to play on, so when we looked at the schedule and realized that the last weekend in January was blissfully free of commitments, we decided to ski tour both days and make the most of it.