I was feeling great when I woke up this morning. We arrived in Mazama, Washington late Wednesday, after a long drive from Seattle. We met most of the others partaking on this crazy adventure for dinner and drinks before heading to bed early in preparation for what I was certain was going to be a crazy day. After a bite to eat we made our way along Ithe icy driveway to the heli-barn. The road was so slick in parts I wondered if I was even going to get a chance to ride in the helicopter.
After a safety talk about what to do and what not to do around the helicopter - most important lesson is to be aware of the spinning blades. We had to practice using a transponder and search for a missing boarder in the snow packed field. I was paired up with Jim and we were thrilled that we were not looking for a real person. The guide told us if the numbers on the transponder were increasing we should do a 180 and walk in the other direction. As a result, we were walking in cirles for quite some time. It seemed like every direction we turned, the numbers kept going up. Finally, the guide switched us to a different buried transponder and we finally found the downed "man". Colleen and Ash had better luck on their practice search and rescue - but not that much better. Hopefully none of us was going to have to use our newly honed technique.
The larger group of 12 was broken down into 3 groups of 4 for the day. Each of us with our own guide. I was very happy to learn that I was assigned the most experienced guide for the day, Dale (a.k.a. Fuzzy). Unlike the bear, Fuzzy was a bit Fuzzy, was he?
Our pilot for all three days is Seamus. Close your eyes and imagine what a guy named Seamus would look like and I think you'll find he looks exactly how you imagined (I'll add a picture later). Seamus gave us another quick safety talk... which came down to watch for spinning blades and then the first group was off. At this point of the morning, I'm shaking a little but deep breathing is helping keep me relaxed.
We watched one more group take off before it was our turn. Seamus flew the copter in and then shut it down for refueling. Before I knew it, it was time to take off. Colleen hopped in the helicopter first, I came in next and Ash and Jim followed quickly behind. As the blades starting picking up speed so did my heart. I was still practicing my deep breathing techniques but nothing was keeping my heart from trying to break out of my chest. Finally, we were airbound. Almost skimming the trees below we made our way to our first landing zone.
Dale took us down a fairly easy run for the first one in an attempt to assess our skills. Even though the runs were not nearly as steep as I imagined it still took a few runs (and falls) before I got in the groove. My legs were shaking so much from the helicopter ride that I had a hard time figuring out how to turn. After a few more rides, my fear of both the helicopter and the slopes was gone and I really started enjoying the day. Hopefully I won't be too sore to enjoy tomorrow.
After a safety talk about what to do and what not to do around the helicopter - most important lesson is to be aware of the spinning blades. We had to practice using a transponder and search for a missing boarder in the snow packed field. I was paired up with Jim and we were thrilled that we were not looking for a real person. The guide told us if the numbers on the transponder were increasing we should do a 180 and walk in the other direction. As a result, we were walking in cirles for quite some time. It seemed like every direction we turned, the numbers kept going up. Finally, the guide switched us to a different buried transponder and we finally found the downed "man". Colleen and Ash had better luck on their practice search and rescue - but not that much better. Hopefully none of us was going to have to use our newly honed technique.
The larger group of 12 was broken down into 3 groups of 4 for the day. Each of us with our own guide. I was very happy to learn that I was assigned the most experienced guide for the day, Dale (a.k.a. Fuzzy). Unlike the bear, Fuzzy was a bit Fuzzy, was he?
Our pilot for all three days is Seamus. Close your eyes and imagine what a guy named Seamus would look like and I think you'll find he looks exactly how you imagined (I'll add a picture later). Seamus gave us another quick safety talk... which came down to watch for spinning blades and then the first group was off. At this point of the morning, I'm shaking a little but deep breathing is helping keep me relaxed.
We watched one more group take off before it was our turn. Seamus flew the copter in and then shut it down for refueling. Before I knew it, it was time to take off. Colleen hopped in the helicopter first, I came in next and Ash and Jim followed quickly behind. As the blades starting picking up speed so did my heart. I was still practicing my deep breathing techniques but nothing was keeping my heart from trying to break out of my chest. Finally, we were airbound. Almost skimming the trees below we made our way to our first landing zone.Dale took us down a fairly easy run for the first one in an attempt to assess our skills. Even though the runs were not nearly as steep as I imagined it still took a few runs (and falls) before I got in the groove. My legs were shaking so much from the helicopter ride that I had a hard time figuring out how to turn. After a few more rides, my fear of both the helicopter and the slopes was gone and I really started enjoying the day. Hopefully I won't be too sore to enjoy tomorrow.
