Pinnacle landings require a recon of the area for suitability, and constant evaluation during the entire evolution. Assuming recon conditions are good for making an approach; then one of the first things that has to be determined is where any winds are coming from for an approach into the wind, and having an appropriate approach angle, preferably a little steep, but not too much, to keep you above the wind demarcation line. This is the line that delineates where wind on the lee side of a pinnacle, where you are approaching from, ceases to be a downdraft. If below this demarcation line, ie- too shallow of an approach, there‘s risk of the downsloping lee-side winds forcing you down into terrain, possibly beyond the power available of the helicopter at that time, to be able to escape from.
Second, is power management. This comes in the form of both energy state, and correspondingly, descent rate. You want to have a slow forward speed, in order to keep the descent VSI to a low rate and manageable. You do this by starting the approach descent at a slow forward speed, and by loading up the rotor system; that is, descending with some power applied in order to keep the descent rate slow, while having some forward speed, but not too much, so that you don’t end up descending with power inside your own dirty downwash. What this does is allows you to make a nice, controlled, descent arrestment at the bottom end with just a small power application with the collective, in order to stop the descent and establish a hover in ground effect prior to touching down. What you want to avoid is a low power descent with an unloaded rotor system, and a corresponding high descent rate, that you then have to arrest at the bottom with a significant power pull. As there will be no guarantee that your power pull at the moment you do it, will arrest the descent vector and rate that you have allowed to occur. And its very possible to impact the ground by attempting that. Especially in hot temp or higher altitude conditions, or both.
