36th RQF helicopter crew rescues fallen hiker Published Nov. 13, 2007 By Tech. Sgt. Larry W. Carpenter Jr. 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The 36th Rescue Flight rescued a 20-year-old hiker Nov. 11, about 20 miles south of Missoula, Mont. The man had fallen about 1,000 feet down an avalanche chute, a down-slope hillside pathway along which avalanches repeatedly fall, coming to rest at an elevation of 7,000 feet. The hiker landed on a rock outcropping that allowed him roughly six feet of moving space, from which he called for help using his cell phone. Local emergency responders were unable to rescue the man due to the hazardous terrain; therefore the 36th RQF flew to the site and lowered an independent-duty medical technician 70 feet via hoist to the outcropping. Once determining the man needed no emergency treatment and was safe for transport, he was hoisted into the helicopter and flown to the rescue team's command post. "When I got to the patient, he was alert and oriented...shivering and visibly cold, but he was not severely hypothermic," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Oldenberg, 36th RQF IDMT. "He was moderately hypothermic but was able to function and ride the forest penetrator up." Sergeant Oldenberg asked the patient some questions to test his competency to ensure that he would be able to ride the forest penetrator. Once he decided that the man was capable, he gave him instructions on the penetrator and sent him up to the helicopter. "We got the call at 11:45 that evening," said Sergeant Oldenberg. "When I talked to the patient, he said that he had been out in the elements for 15 hours." Instead of both men taking the penetrator up together, Sergeant Olenberg made the decision that it would be safer to go one at a time. Due to the high winds, this allowed him to stabilize the penetrator so that it would not swing out of control as they brought the hiker up to the helicopter. Every mission brings with it its own challenges, and due to the high winds and near complete darkness, this one was no different. The grade of the cliff, as well as the size of the outcropping the hiker was stranded on, put the helicopter rotors within close proximity of the rock walls during the extraction. "Due to the high winds, as I was being lowered the wind caught my 24-hour pack and started spinning me," said Sergeant Oldenberg. "The crew was able to set me down on the terrain safely." The terrain that the hiker was stranded on was extremely steep. When the flight engineer lowered the forest penetrator to the IDMT, even though it was only a few feet away it began to roll down the hill. According to Sergeant Oldenberg, the patient told him that he got caught in a blizzard before he slid down the hill. The hiker was not equipped for survival - he had a head lamp and a day pack but no survival gear. The head lamp fortunately turned out to be key in signaling the crew to his exact position. "I would say that he had approximately two to three hours before going into severe hypothermia. He would have been in a bad situation," said Sergeant Oldenberg. The training that the rescue crews go through ensures that when the time comes, they perform without hesitation and are able to adjust when things don't go exactly as planned. "I think our training was paramount," he said. "I wouldn't have had the confidence to accomplish the mission in those conditions without the training." "I'm extremely proud of the rapid response and the great coordination between us, the Air Force Rescue Center, and the ground crew," said Maj. Curtis Wichers, 36th RQF commander. "The crew displayed great competence in their abilities to get into that tight spot and safely extract the hiker." Along with Sergeant Oldenberg the rescue crew included: Capt. Kevin Burns, aircraft commander; Capt. Christopher Johnson, co-pilot and Staff Sgt. JD Hill, flight engineer. The rescue was the 620th for the Rescue Flight.