Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania

[andrewp]

Regarding helicopter rescues- what happens with your pack, say if they have to winch you out from somewhere? Is there a defined protocol or procedure- can you push things into your coat, like camera, lenses- would they winch your pack up first, (priorities!) and you second or does the rescue man on the ground put your pack on and come up into the chopper with it- what happens there?

When I was involved in a helicopter evacuation in Tassie there was no question about the pack. It was just hooked up to the line along with the paramedic, the injured person, the first aid kit and the stretcher. However it may be different in other states. I know that when the infamous Tim Holding was lifted from the side of Feathertop his pack was left where it was.

[north-north-west]

Cool footage. Is it wrong of me to giggle so much at the sight of the cops floundering around in hip deep snowdrifts?

Were they not PARAMEDICS doing their job what is there to giggle about nnw, shame on you for you hilarity about people doing an excellent job,could you have done better?

There's only one paramedic with each SAR chopper crew. Plus one pilot and two other cops including the winch operator.

corby, I've twice been on the receiving end of their attention. I have an enormous amount of respect & admiration for cops and SAR personnel.
But it was still gigglesome. I just have that sort of sense of humour. And if you don't like it . . . well, stiff.

[kitty]

I confess - I had a giggle too when I watched the footage of the rescuers making their way through the deep snow.
Awesome footage overall of the conditions out there. Total respect for the rescuers and yes...I do know that it is no joke.

[stepbystep]

The person in question had enough food and was more concerned about folks at home worried for them. Hence the plb button press.

It gives great practice for our emergency services, they enjoy it, ask them.

Instead of bitching about a few dollars spent refining the skills of this, truly essential service look at where the REAL big money(your tax dollars) are spent and *&%$#! about that.....

[north-north-west]

Park fees do apply all year round. There's a small window on the Overland that does not require booking or track fees, and which gives people the opportunity to walk the proper way - south to north.
If they are suitably prepared, as this bloke was, why shouldn't they go? There is no way to know whether something is going to go wrong until you are out there and it has done so. If we second-guessed every trip we'd never go anywhere, particularly when you think how changeable and unreliable Tasmanian weather is.

As for the giggles: hey, there are people who find the Three Stooges funny. Or Fawlty Towers. Personally, I'm not much into humiliation and violence as a source of humour. But sometimes - especially when you know it's an event that hasn't had serious consequences - I do find it amusing to see people being made to look a bit silly by circumstances. So sue me.

You're entitled to your opinion. So is everyone else.

[doogs]

If someone has the time to speed up the footage of the wobbily policemen with 'Benny Hill' style music, reversing it occasionally to prolong the hilarity I will be forever grateful. You can't beat slapstick humour..

[corvus]

That's why I put that footage in *snigger*

You got a free Chopper ride then? and if so you must have been up to the bollocks in it also ? bet you did not think that was amusing

[corvus]

Where is the mirth in watching a dedicated Police Officer and Paramedic subject themselves to strenuous movement through waist deep snow to rescue one of us ?? I am appalled that you can relate this to some irrelevant comedy show

[pazzar]

Calm your farm Corvus. No one here is undermining the role that the SAR guys do.

People find the footage amusing because most of us have found ourselves post-holing in deep snow ourselves - we can relate to it, and we would laugh at ourselves if we had someone filming it. There is no need to be starting an argument over what was intended as an innocent comment.

[stepbystep]

You got a free Chopper ride then? and if so you must have been up to the bollocks in it also ? bet you did not think that was amusing

Ahhh...no. I was playing in the snow somewhere else. No choppers required.

As doogs articulated, it's even funnier with a Benny Hill soundtrack...

[corvus]

You got a free Chopper ride then? and if so you must have been up to the bollocks in it also ? bet you did not think that was amusing

Ahhh...no. I was playing in the snow somewhere else. No choppers required.

As doogs articulated, it's even funnier with a Benny Hill soundtrack...

Glad to see you had a good play,why no footage ??

[Nuts]

Some of these conversations are amusing! Each to their own humour, there is overly concerned and flippant/ on topic, then there'll be those contributing neither.

Walking Sth > Nth isn't made more 'proper' by someone saying it is. For inexperienced walkers I would suggest it's in fact an unwise complication as doing so results in the highest traverse necessary late in the walk, without any advantage of a weather window choice.

The rescue services will have their protocol, which we would have noticed rarely involves anything but positive (or neutral) comments about the incident at hand and those involved? Personally, to me.. if you are being rescued, you've failed, however it has happened and without any judgement of circumstances or experience. However much the experience helps hone practice for heli-rescue and is merely 'routine' it should be kept in mind that these aren't exactly pacifying notions for the actions of those rescued in any way. You may be responsible for putting people at risk on your behalf or (as has happened) diverted attention from those more at need of help (recalling that rescuers may have no idea what is wrong before they arrive and assess the incident). It could well have been a team on the ground, battling heavy snow, trying to reach 'you'.

Jokes aside (and my humour bone would be served by photoshopping Bronwyn into the fireman's carry.. ) the 'obvious' here is that they wouldn't have known the weight of the 'emergency' and also with a short weather window the pilot will want immediate information about shutting down, maybe leaving for other rescues, standing off from the area (if landing hadn't possible/ in strong winds) etc etc. Being overtly concerned is valid, given that the authorities wont be overtly critical? To 'us'.

They'll generally take your gear and often be able to take a significant other (from the handful of experiences iv'e had with rescue).

[icefest]

Personally, to me.. if you are being rescued, you've failed, however it has happened and without any judgement of circumstances or experience.

What about getting snowed in and not making it back to your home base in time? When you have a choice of PLB or expensive S&R where is the failure? Especially if the trip is so long that there was no forecast storm.

[pazzar]

Personally, to me.. if you are being rescued, you've failed, however it has happened and without any judgement of circumstances or experience.

What about getting snowed in and not making it back to your home base in time? When you have a choice of PLB or expensive S&R where is the failure? Especially if the trip is so long that there was no forecast storm.

So having an accident is failing? I can be pretty stubborn at times, but I know what I would be doing if I had a serious accident in the bush. It's happened to me once, and it's not an experience I'd care to repeat, but if anything, I've gained experience from it, so it was anything but failure.

If rescue equals failure, is long term injury or death a success?

[icefest]

Personally, to me.. if you are being rescued, you've failed, however it has happened and without any judgement of circumstances or experience.

What about getting snowed in and not making it back to your home base in time? When you have a choice of PLB or expensive S&R where is the failure? Especially if the trip is so long that there was no forecast storm.

So having an accident is failing? I can be pretty stubborn at times, but I know what I would be doing if I had a serious accident in the bush. It's happened to me once, and it's not an experience I'd care to repeat, but if anything, I've gained experience from it, so it was anything but failure.

If rescue equals failure, is long term injury or death a success?

Not sure why to quote me, but I agree.

I don't think there is any failure if you get appendicitis and need an evac.

[Nuts]

They are interesting notions, the extent of your failure or the resulting lessons leading to enhancement of your personal experience. Whether failure can actually include a degree of 'success' in the fact that you still live? lol The rescue services have been successful in mitigating your failure?

I'm on mobile so you may have to discuss among selves I don't think it needs to include this recent incident but yes, in the nicest possible tone, the guy failed. Lest we see a plb as a planning element? I'm not one, but some would start with scoffing at going out alone, others going out in winter, to non-bushwalking taxpayers simply leaving a perfectly good vehicle when there is no other compelling reason than personal enhancement?

[icefest]

Why does the dichotomy of failure and success have to be synonymous with an evac /no evac?

This would imply that every evac could have been foreseen/prepared for.

An evac for appendicitis is not a failure or success. No matter where. Whether it happens at the solitary mans hut or in cygnet - either way, if it gets bad enough you will bee getting evacuated (heli/ambulance).

[north-north-west]

Have to agree with the youngsters on that. Death on a walk could be seen as failure - if you could have avoided it with better planning and preparation.
Having the sense to admit that you're in need of assistance is a kind of success.

[Son of a Beach]

Sheesh... if people want to start arguing about what is a failure and what is a success, then first they'll need to define what the goal(s) is/are.

If the goal is to have an enjoyable walk without requiring assistance, then yes, rescue is a failure. If the goal is to stay alive, then getting rescued is not a failure.

It all depends on the context and your point of view.

Also, failure doesn't equate to fault. It's possible to fail (to complete a walk independently) without any blame having to be attributed to anybody (eg, unpredictable health issue). It's also possible to fail (to have a completely enjoyable walk) due to somebody else's fault (eg, being fire-bombed!).

Last edited by Son of a Beach on Wed 12 Aug, 2015 3:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

[Nuts]

Sure, I didn't have in mind a silk purse from sows ear but there are definitely levels of success (and failed plans).

Lol, my focus wasn't actually on 'failure' just a balance of points that may make a heli-lift not routine, slapstick, not a serious undertaking.
(more for general viewing than any notion of advice for the experienced)

[doogs]

Seems like a good advert for a SPOT device = You can just keep hitting the OK button a couple of times each day so folks who may be concern know where you are and that you're safe. Just think of the size of snowman he could have built waiting until he was able to move on..I would hit the button just so the chopper crew could admire it.

[Son of a Beach]

Yep. For the record, I happened to find the video of the service men struggling through the snow a bit on the funny side too. Yes, I fully respect what they do, and understand that they were undertaking a serious operation. But that doesn't make the footage non-funny.

I remember post-holing in deep snow on the approach to one of the OT huts one winter. I fell over, landing on my forearms, and was so fed up with post-holing and knew that gettting upright again was going to be quite difficult. So I thought, "hey, I can see the hut just there, I reckon I can crawl that far". I tried, but discovered that post-holing your arms is even worse that normal post-holing, because you end up with your face in the snow at every attempt.

At the time, I was exhausted, and very, very upset. I think I remember swearing at a wombat that ran past me as I lifted my face out of the snow. Now, looking back on it, I think it was hilarious. I wish my wife had taken some phone-video of it, instead of selfishly attempting to keep walking, herself.

(PS. We did have snow shoes, and used them on and off. Sometimes the snow was too soft, and sometimes too shallow.)

Last edited by Son of a Beach on Wed 12 Aug, 2015 4:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Nuts]

Lol (doogs), sure, the option to flip between HELP and OK as you see them approach!
Pilots could print their call signs on the side so you could decide on the appropriate button

[north-north-west]

It's also possible to fail (to have a completely enjoyable walk) due to somebody else's fault (eg, being fire-bombed!).

Am I ever going to hear the end of that incident?

[vicrev]

Some of us have 10 seconds of fame in a lifetime.......Very,very few go into the Bushwalkers folklore,always remembered around the campfire.......

[geoskid]

Sheesh... if people want to start arguing about what is a failure and what is a success, then first they'll need to define what the goal(s) is/are.

If the goal is to have an enjoyable walk without requiring assistance, then yes, rescue is a failure. If the goal is to stay alive, then getting rescued is not a failure.

It all depends on the context and your point of view.

Also, failure doesn't equate to fault. It's possible to fail (to complete a walk independently) without any blame having to be attributed to anybody (eg, unpredictable health issue). It's also possible to fail (to have a completely enjoyable walk) due to somebody else's fault (eg, being fire-bombed!).

Agree with your view SoaB. about defining goals, before any meaningful discussion can be had regarding succsess/failure. A valuable discussion to be had.

I'm on the side that says failure can only be attributed to conscious minds failing to do what conscious minds are capable of if they are up to spec.

Lots of leeway.

[Lophophaps]

Slightly off-topic, but related.

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There's one of her on a rescue in SW Tassie but the weather was bad and there was water on the lens, so no picture. She nearly slipped out of her harness. Comment about what might have been is without profit.

[vicrev]

Are you implying she has a Heli-fetish ?........

[tasadam]

Moderators have got quite a bit of work to do because people can't play nice and follow pretty simple forum rules.
This topic will be returned to normal state once that work is done, but it might be a while. Time is limited.