A Day with CMBH
We got the opportunity to accompany CMBH’s team for a day dedicated to the preparation of the busy summer hut season. After a great winter, mountain installations need different kinds of maintenance.
We meet early in the morning for the day’s briefing. The spring air is crisp and the temperature somewhat chilly. Nadine, who has worked for CMBH for more than three decades, organizes the agenda and manages the busy schedule of the team and aircraft. Flight assistants start to take helicopters out of the hangar and prepare equipment for the day’s missions.
This morning, it’s all about the control and installation of “Gazex” avalanche- prevention systems. They cause shock waves through explosions on the snowpack to set in motion recent accumulations of snow. This greatly reduces the chances for any destructive natural avalanches in the same region until another significant snowfall occurs. Therefore, it’s a temporary avalanche protection measure.
The team must drop off people at varying altitudes and retrieve them for each Gazex installation. It’s quite a tricky exercise, as the places are almost inaccessible and the snow is half hard, half melted at this time of the year.
While the technicians on the mountain are managing the Gazex systems, the helicopter goes stand-by in a secured area, patiently waiting for them. When retrieving technicians, the focus is on avoiding dangerous situations since protruding mountainous rocks are abundant. One bad move and the mission can quickly turn into a nightmare. Fortunately, all pilots and flight assistants have years of experience and are used to these situations.
The flight assistant serves as the pilot’s “third eye” and works to keep technicians safe as they are dropped off and onboarded. They guide the pilot with high- level precision and keep the weight of the helicopter balanced as they define landing areas in high altitudes. Most of the time, the only way to land is via a skate support maneuver.
Each minute counts to complete the landing operation that includes evaluating
60 Sep/Oct 2022
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