6 minute read
BACKCOUNTRY HELICOPTERS
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. LUKE'S HEALTH SYSTEM
Heroes and Hair-Raising Views
BY MIKE MCKENNA
Idaho is home to some of the most harsh and remote wilderness in the country. If you live here, no matter how long it has been, you know that our backyard is pretty incredible.
But as beautiful as it is, much of Idaho is still wild, rugged, and remote.
There are a lot of places that aren’t easy to access—unless, that is, you have a helicopter and a skilled pilot. From “Bucket List” scenic tours to lifesaving backcountry rescues, helicopters play an important role in the Gem State.
BACKCOUNTRY HEROES
From the “sagebrush sea” to the jagged peaks of the Northern Rockies to the dense forests of the panhandle, nearly two-thirds (62%) of the land and waters of Idaho are public.
These lands are home to a variety of industry and endless recreational options. But as appealing as they are, much of the land is wild, rough, and unforgiving.
In Idaho, it’s easy to get off the grid and get into trouble. That’s why helicopters have played a big role in critical care here for decades.
Blaine Patterson didn’t think much about helicopters when he was growing up in Carey, playing eight-man football, moving irrigation pipes, and feeding cows. But he did have an interest in doing something important with his life. That’s why he volunteered to be a First Responder back in his hometown.
Patterson became a paramedic and one day he helped out with a critical incident in Carey that changed the projection of his life. An air ambulance team came in to take the patient from them.
“The professional manner they came in with and the way they saved that life, that was next-level helping someone and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” Patterson recalled.
A few decades and educational degrees later and Patterson is now the Director of EMS for Air St Luke’s. He has provided critical care on helicopter crews since 2001 and currently directs a team of 164 EMS providers across the southern part of the state. His team provides critical care through helicopter, airplane, and ambulance transportation from Boise to McCall, from the Wood River Valley to the Magic Valley and beyond.
“We’ve got pockets of people all over the place, especially in the warmer months, and if you have something that’s time sensitive a helicopter is the fastest and best way to help,” Patterson said. “We’ve had full recoveries for people in catastrophic states that would not have survived otherwise. Helicopter medicine definitely has its place in Idaho.”
Mountains, deserts, rivers and old dirt roads—there are lots of places in the Gem State where people can get to, but can’t get out of if they get into trouble. Helping people in Idaho’s massive backcountry is one of Air St Luke’s most important roles.
“Helicopters can get you into some pretty hard-to-reach places,” Patterson said, explaining why it’s vital to have a top-notch crew.
The typical three-person helicopter crew consists of a critical care nurse, critical care paramedic, and a pilot. The first step in the process is to make sure the pilot can safely get the helicopter there and back. Weather, wind, and visibility are some of the things the pilot has to quickly assess. Once the calculations have been made the crew then has to gather their gear and get aboard. They have to be prepared for almost anything.
“Most of the time it’s pretty rapid-fire. We’re often heading somewhere and we don’t know what we’re going to have to deal with when we get there,” Patterson said. “When you get out of the helicopter, you’re on stage. Basically, everyone present is watching your actions with the mindset of, ‘Hey, we called you to get us out of this mess.’”
One of the most dramatic rescues Air St Luke’s took part in recently occurred at the Malad Gorge Bridge. A truck attached to a camper had gone over the railing and was hanging on by a chain, dangling 800 feet above the rocky river bottom. A Hollywood action scene in real life took place, except this time the heroes weren’t wearing capes. Along with the other members of SORT (Special Operations Rescue Team) of the Magic Valley, they helped save two adults and even their dog.
As challenging as that rescue was, it’s really just another day at the office for the Air St Luke’s team.
“It’s a very dynamic job. Every day, every call is different,” Patterson said.
“The more time I can spend in the air the better. Flying helicopters is a lot of fun,” he said. “Every flight is different and unique.”
BUCKET LIST
John Grommet is a helicopter flight instructor with Silverhawk Aviation Academy in Caldwell. Originally from Kansas, Grommet is amazed by his new home state every time he flies.
“The beauty of Idaho is really something else and it’s so diverse,” Grommet said. “There’s something magical about flying over the Sawtooths or the Owyhees or over the Snake River and the high desert.”
Grommet has certainly seen some impressive terrain in his life. He served in the Army as a paratrooper for the 82nd Airborne Division and made 25 successful jumps. While jumping from helicopters piqued his interest in vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircrafts, it wasn’t until a chat with his mom that he found his true calling.
“She suggested I might like being a helicopter pilot and it clicked,” Grommet recalled. “That was it. That was what I was going to do.”
Grommet used the G.I. Bill to help him earn a degree in Applied Sciences at Treasure Valley Community College, which teams up with Silverhawk Aviation Academy. Grommet’s career as a pilot took off from there.
“Helicopters are these weird beasts that make sense when you understand the science behind them, the physics, the aerodynamics,” Grommet explained. “They are amazing machines.”
Unlike fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters have much more maneuverability and are actually considered safer—ideal traits for Idaho’s diverse and divergent landscapes.
“They’re very safe. Even if you lose your engine you can pretty much land in someone’s backyard, if you needed to,” Grommet quipped.
In addition to being an instructor, Grommet also flies monthly charters to do things like measure snow depths in the mountains, and flies scenic discovery tours around the region. Flying people around Idaho’s backyard is certainly one of his favorite parts of the job.
“People will instinctively get a bit nervous. They just don’t know how to feel. Helicopters move in three-dimensions, which is a different experience,” Grommet explained. “But I’ve never had someone who didn’t like it afterwards. It’s just such an incredible experience and way to see the world. It really imprints. It should be on everyone’s ‘Bucket List.’”
