Mountain rescue: air-glacier teams testify

Tuesday, August 19, 3:40 p.m.: No strident alarm, no voice on speakers announcing a rescue mission. Everything remains calm at the base Air-Glaciers Sion. However, the AG-01 team sets in motion. No one runs. Everyone knows what to do. In five minutes, the helicopter must take off. A message transmitted by the central from 144 from Sierre to Ground Ops, the base control center of the base, and to the rescue team mobilized, details the mission order. A search flight. A young woman could be lost in montagne. Her companion and she separated on the Cheilon glacier, above the dam of the Grande Dixence, in the Val d’Hérens. It was he who, not seeing her arriving in Arolla, gave the alarm.

“The flight research missions are always delicate,” explains Grégory Bueche, a guide specialized rescuer. “We are the first answer, but if we do not quickly find the disappeared person, other means can be engaged such as rescue columns or the army.” Passionate about nature, this training forest of training has worked as a guide for ten years. He loves his job, his uncertainty and his always different situations. However, he notices an increase in interventions. “There is a real craze for nature. More people, so more accidents. ”

Chain of dramas in Valais

In recent weeks, mishaps and mountain dramas have made the headlines. Lack of preparation, unconsciousness? The discussion engages with his colleague Christophe Berclaz, also guides rescuer. Both agree: “It’s a chance to have these mountains and be able to enjoy them freely.” For them, the relationship that we maintain with nature is a good mirror of society. “With social networks, we want to do like everyone else and show it,” says Christophe. “The known races are assailed, while some corners, just as beautiful, remain deserted.”

They note that even if people are generally well prepared, they sometimes struggle to calculate the difficulty and measure the effort. “With the boom in the indoor starment, mountaineering has become very democratic,” notes Grégory. But it is not the same as to make a long way, to manage your effort over time with changing weather conditions. We must increasingly evacuate climbers stuck in a wall. ” Generally people are grateful to see the rescuers arrive. But the two guides note an evolution: “For some, mobilizing a helicopter, a whole rescue team and that we sometimes risk our lives seems completely normal to them. As a due. It questions… ”

Six helicopters at Air-Glaciers

3:45 p.m. The AG-01 helicopter takes off. On board, the rescue team consists of the pilot and paramedic At the front, a Guide Labor and a doctor working at the rear. In a few seconds, the machine leaves the plain and joined the Val d’Hérens. He flies over VEX, then at the height of heremence, he takes right. Direction the Grande Dixence. A stopover on the heliport at the foot of the dam to lighten the helicopter. Pierre Colombo, the doctor, and the heavy equipment will remain pending while the rest of the crew will do the supposed journey of the missing young woman.

All operations are managed from the Ground Ops of the Sion base. On their screens, Muriel Loye and Glenn Steenackers follow the movements of all their machines, but also those of Rega or Zermatt air. Air-Glaciers has six helicopters spread over four bases, in Sion, Collombey, Lauterbrunnen and Gstaad. In winter, during the high season, all the teams are on deck. They carried out up to 42 missions on January 27, 2024, a record. Summer remains calmer. “This year, there is an upsurge in mountain bike accident. It is an increasingly popular sport and the Worlds will take place in Sion at the end of the month, ”says Muriel Loye.

Psychological support essential for air-glac teams

Since June 15, Air-Glaciers has carried out 545 rescue missions, 310 of which concerned mountain activities. Figures up compared to last year. The Valais cantonal police statistics confirm this trend. There was 17 deaths In hiking in 2024, for nine in 2023. And just this summer, thirteen mountaineers died in the Valais Alps. “This year, I noticed more discomfort -related discomfort and infarction,” said Jasmin Lienert. The doctor, Zurich of origin, divides her time between the Sion hospital and the air-glacier base where she provides permanence of forty-eight hours.

Part of the work of a first aid is also the expectation. Between two interventions, the teams can relax. “We discuss, we laugh, we eat together,” explains Pierre-Alexandre ISOZ, paramedic. “But that remains very important. It’s a teamwork. We must know the people with whom we go on a mission. We must be able to count on each other. ”

It is also an opportunity to debrief and empty your bag. “Some rescues can be difficult to live. We have psychological support. But sometimes, it’s easier to tell someone you know about it. ” The rest of the time there is still work. Make administrative, prepare the equipment, look at the weather situation … “I am a bit do everythingsmiles the paramedic Friborg. I am full of machines, I control the medical equipment, I do a guide for journalists. On a mission, I am also the flight assistant. ”

Air-Glaciers’ intervening doctor’s radio, Pierre Colombo, Grésille: “Mission canceled, we go back to the base.” In a few minutes, the whole team is back on the tarmac. “They managed to reach the young woman by phone,” said Grégory Bueche, the guide. She should arrive in Arolla soon. The day was calm on Tuesday. “This morning we had to evacuate a sprain in the ankle, a small helicopter of two mountaineers trapped on an edge after a landslide this afternoon and this research. It is as well days like this or all finished for the best! ”

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