Helicopters Otago staff were training around Mt Cook last week, simulating rescue work, completing winch operations — all in darkness.
Helicopters Otago owner Graeme Gale said the work was valuable and would save lives.
"This is tricky stuff, you know ... it’s the highest mountain that we have in New Zealand. I don’t know of any other jobs where in the middle of the night, you’re winching two people up over 12,000 feet [3660m]," he said.
"They’re serious jobs and everyone’s got to have 100% faith in the other person they’re working with because the risk is so high. That is why we’re doing the training to drive the risk down."
The training was done in conjunction with the Department of Conservation alpine rescue team and the helicopter’s company own rescue operators and staff.
They were all one big team and looking to get things right to prepare for when things go wrong.
Helicopters Otago has night-time equipment and was in the area only last month, as two men died and another two were rescued at 2am, winched off Aoraki/Mt Cook.
Mr Gale said it was a tough assignment that night and one which had a mixed result. But that was the nature of the job.
"We’re in some of the most spectacular scenery in New Zealand yet we’re there to do a job and we do tend to overlook the magnitude and the spectacular scenery that we’re working in because we’re quite used to operating in that. But this is really serious stuff that we’re doing. It’s high end and it needs a lot of concentration, a lot of input from everyone that’s involved in it."
He said teams collaborated well and there was some real talent involved. The season had started on a busy note.
"We’ve done a reasonable amount of alpine stuff already this season and the season’s really only got under way. There’s been some terrible tragedies already this season and we just don’t want to see those tragedies but there can be fatalities which are absolutely heartbreaking obviously for the families. But even for us going and doing it does take its toll on the guys and, you know, we’ve got to deal with it."
He said they had put a lot of effort over the past two years into increasing their alpine capability, to conduct a very professional rescue operation.
"If the fatality’s already happened, it’s happened and we can bring closure with retrieving bodies and stuff like that. But does it give us an opportunity to get in and get out before the weather comes in or go and rescue someone in the middle of the night that’s had a major accident and is bleeding out — 100% it will save lives."
