Great Coast Guard rescue

[ASpilot2be]

This rescue took place behind our house.

[h=2]Shipmate of the Week – Crew of CG6038[/h]FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011
Posted by: LT Stephanie Young

The crew of CG6038, Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Powers, Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Giumette, Lt. Andy Schanno and Lt. Mike Snyder, pose for a photo during a refuel on their way home from the rescue. Photo courtesy of Lt. Andy Schanno.
​

Soaking wet and hypothermic, Keith Hutchins stood on a rocky ledge with nowhere to go, trapped on Mount Ripinsky, Alaska. As he leaned against the mountain, 2,500 feet off the ground, there was no way of knowing if he would be there another 20 hours or if a rescue crew would be there to save him.
Hutchins was hiking on the mountain’s trail when there was a drastic change in weather. Becoming disoriented in whiteout conditions, he was caught in an avalanche and slipped, falling hundreds of feet onto a rocky ledge.

Keith Hutchins is transported from a Coast Guard rescue helicopter to ambulance after being rescued by the crew of CG6038. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
​

Remarkably, Hutchins still had signal on his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. Mountaineers and rescue personnel from Haines Volunteer Fire Department, Juneau Mountain Rescueand Skagway Fire Department headed out to free Hutchins, but due to poor weather conditions and the steep terrain rescuers couldn’t reach him from below. They had to try from above and knew just who to call.
The crew of CG6038 – Lt. Andy Schanno, Lt. Mike Snyder, Petty Officer 3rd Class Nick Giumette and Petty Officer 2nd Class Craig Powers – had only been on duty for a few minutes at Air Station Sitka when they got the call to launch for the rescue.
Rescuers weren’t sure where exactly Hutchins was, so the crew of the 6038 used their searchlight and flew back and forth across the base of the mountain below the clouds. Hutchins, in contact with mountain rescue, could see the searchlight and reported when he saw the beam directly below him.
The crew had a better idea of where Hutchins was, but the whiteout forced the rescuers to make a tough call – they would have to leave Hutchins overnight.
“It was a bit discouraging to have to leave him there, but there was no possible way to rescue him,” said Powers, the crew’s rescue swimmer. “If he could just hang in the night ‘till the next day we were sure, if the weather cooperated, that we could rescue him.”
The crew awoke the next morning and awaited a break in the weather. As snow and wind churned around the airport, a gap in the clouds came.
The crew hovered around the mountain’s rock outcroppings and trees, now fully encased with ice. After multiple passes, the crew spotted Hutchins. Schanno, the aircraft commander, and Snyder positioned the helicopter as Powers was hoisted below the helicopter.

The view from the rescue helicopter's cabin of Keith Hutchins as he stood on a rocky ledge on Alaska's Mount Ripinksy. Photo courtesy of Lt. Andy Schanno.
​

“Nick Giumette, the flight mechanic, conned the helicopter into perfect position,” said Powers. “I bounced along the icy cliff side and ended up in a powdery, snowy ravine just below the survivor’s legs.”
After close to a day spent standing upright, thousands of feet up a mountain, Hutchins was safe.
“I just wanted to give the guy the biggest hug in the world,” recounted Hutchins in aninterview after the rescue. “I was like dude you just saved my life.”
The crew of CG6038 were true heroes that day. They made the peaks of our nation’sLast Frontier just one other place the Coast Guard saves lives – even if it was from a mountaintop.
“I never imagined I’d be plucking people off mountains when I was growing up in western Pennsylvania,” said Snyder, the co-pilot. “It’s an indescribable feeling to help somebody like that. “
“I sincerely never envisioned myself being put into a position to save people’s lives, not to mention from a helicopter in Alaska,” added Powers. “It’s extremely gratifying and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
The crew of CG6038 will be honored at the Coast Guard Foundation‘s 31st Annual Salute to the United States Coast Guard next Thursday alongside a rescue crew fromCoast Guard Station Tillamook Bay. Stay tuned next week to hear their story!
Do you know a Shipmate that has done something great for the service, the missions or the public? Please submit your nominations using the “Submit Ideas” link on the right.

​

Mount Ripinsky, Alaska, where the rescue of Keith Hutchins took place. Photo courtesy of Lt. Andy Schanno.

 

[Boris Badenov]

I never cease to be amazed by the dumb people do (or allow their kids to do) and then 100% EXPECT the apparatus of the State to save them from. I'm at least two tiers down from the Coast Guard. We don't "rescue", we just "transport". Nevertheless, when you pick up a kid who ran out in to traffic because Mom was down at the corner store picking up some beer and smokes, you at once desperately hope that the kid pulls through and desperately hope that he's put in to foster care. And maybe, just a little, that he lives a happy life that doesn't involve reproducing.

 

[ASpilot2be]

I never cease to be amazed by the dumb people do (or allow their kids to do) and then 100% EXPECT the apparatus of the State to save them from. I'm at least two tiers down from the Coast Guard. We don't "rescue", we just "transport". Nevertheless, when you pick up a kid who ran out in to traffic because Mom was down at the corner store picking up some beer and smokes, you at once desperately hope that the kid pulls through and desperately hope that he's put in to foster care. And maybe, just a little, that he lives a happy life that doesn't involve reproducing.

Totally agree. But I am not about to call this person they rescued stupid.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Totally agree. But I am not about to call this person they rescued stupid.

*shrug*. You're quite right, we don't know the particulars. But from what I've seen at LEAST 90% of genuine Rescue scenarios eventuate due to some dude saying "ah! What's the worst that could happen!?" Then not having the good grace to expire at his own speed. That said, it's entirely possible that this guy was the exception to the rule...did his due dilligence and just got unlucky. Whatever the case, props to the Coast Guard. Funny how saving people from imminent Death doesn't get as much airplay as causing it.

 

[MikeD]

*Whatever the case, props to the Coast Guard.

Don't you mean rotors?

bada-bing! I'll be here all week ladies and gentlemen!

 

[ASpilot2be]

*shrug*. You're quite right, we don't know the particulars. But from what I've seen at LEAST 90% of genuine Rescue scenarios eventuate due to some dude saying "ah! What's the worst that could happen!?" Then not having the good grace to expire at his own speed. That said, it's entirely possible that this guy was the exception to the rule...did his due dilligence and just got unlucky. Whatever the case, props to the Coast Guard. Funny how saving people from imminent Death doesn't get as much airplay as causing it.

Fair enough point. That may be the case down there, but the CG up here is used a lot for actual rescues. Getting people to hospitals from communities where the medevac planes can not get in, sinking fishing boats, etc. They are certainly used for more meaningful tasks up here.

 

[milleR]

I don't know what this guys situation was, but as someone who used to actively backcountry ski and mountaineer all I'll say is I never knew a single person who went into the mountains thinking that an emergency rescue was a safe or reliable backup. We always considered ourselves self-sufficient, and if the whole day went pear-shaped we'd hope to be able to deal with it ourselves. That being said, there are conditions beyond a persons control. Avalanche science is (or at least was, I've been out of the game for a while) half knowledge/half luck, nobody really had a good handle on it. I can name about a half dozen extremely experienced climbers and skiers I knew who've been caught off-guard and killed (Alex Lowe and Doug Combs just to name two of the more well known guys). In that kind of situation an air rescue is a god-send.

I used to know a handful of S&R folks in the lower 48. Most of them participated in the same activities as the people they were rescuing so there was a mutual understanding of the risks involved and the impetus that drives people into the mountains. It's a small community. Still no excuse for not following the seven P's, but crap does happen to well prepared people.

But then you have Joe Public out for a weekend hike. Maybe that was this guy, I have no idea (though I'll say anybody heading into the mountains alone has questionable judgement from the start).

 

[ASpilot2be]

I don't know what this guys situation was, but as someone who used to actively backcountry ski and mountaineer all I'll say is I never knew a single person who went into the mountains thinking that an emergency rescue was a safe or reliable backup. We always considered ourselves self-sufficient, and if the whole day went pear-shaped we'd hope to be able to deal with it ourselves. That being said, there are conditions beyond a persons control. Avalanche science is (or at least was, I've been out of the game for a while) half knowledge/half luck, nobody really had a good handle on it. I can name about a half dozen extremely experienced climbers and skiers I knew who've been caught off-guard and killed (Alex Lowe and Doug Combs just to name two of the more well known guys). In that kind of situation an air rescue is a god-send.

I used to know a handful of S&R folks in the lower 48. Most of them participated in the same activities as the people they were rescuing so there was a mutual understanding of the risks involved and the impetus that drives people into the mountains. It's a small community. Still no excuse for not following the seven P's, but crap does happen to well prepared people.

But then you have Joe Public out for a weekend hike. Maybe that was this guy, I have no idea (though I'll say anybody heading into the mountains alone has questionable judgement from the start).

This guy was on a well blazed trail. It is certainly no mountaineering expedition. People hike it on the weekends around here. I don't know what all happened here, but I think he got disoriented up top and fell off the ledge. Most people around here go out prepared, they know the dangers involved.

 

[milleR]

This guy was on a well blazed trail. It is certainly no mountaineering expedition. People hike it on the weekends around here. I don't know what all happened here, but I think he got disoriented up top and fell off the ledge. Most people around here go out prepared, they know the dangers involved.

Fair enough, I would expect that in Alaska. Like I said, I don't know what the situation was. I was more responding to Boris' post.

 

[Roger, Roger]

You want a really good USCG rescue story, read the story of the Alaska Ranger rescue.

 

[ASpilot2be]

You want a really good USCG rescue story, read the story of the Alaska Ranger rescue.

That us a great rescue story also!

 

[BobDDuck]

I don't know what this guys situation was, but as someone who used to actively backcountry ski and mountaineer all I'll say is I never knew a single person who went into the mountains thinking that an emergency rescue was a safe or reliable backup.

I agree that out of the people that actively participate in outdoor activities, nobody (or very few anyway) go into the wilderness with a plan to get pulled out if needed, but there is a going trend of really dumb calls to rescue agencies. Also, with the readily available SPOT satellite communications system S&R groups are starting to get activated for increasingly dumb calls.

There was a great article about this in June's Outside Magazine.
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/outdoor-skills/survival/Panic-Button.html

 

[Xcaliber]

There was a great article about this in June's Outside Magazine.
http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/outdoor-skills/survival/Panic-Button.html

I like that Howe guy...

“The problem isn’t whether beacons should be part of the wilderness experience,” he says. “It’s whether some people should be allowed out of their yard.”

I recently bought a PLB for myself when I started ferry flying. After researching what goes on after the device is activated, there's no way I would push the button unless I knew that I couldn't help myself. It's definitely not a toy. There's a reason it says on the side, "This is a device of last resort. Use only when all possibilities of self rescue have been exhausted."