Breckenridge Real Estate Blog

The Mile High Snowmobile Club will host a Flight For Life Benefit ride Saturday February 10, 2007

A organized benefit ride with the Grandlake area snowmobile club is scheduled to take place to raise money for Flight for Life. Come join is the event in Granby, Colorado, the public is welcome to attend. The event is scheduled between 9 am and expected to run until 4 pm.
Mile-Hi Snowmobile Club (MHSC) is a nonprofit organization whose main purpose is to promote safe family snowmobiling. Members of the Club enjoy the camaraderie of folks that enjoy the same sport, club-sponsored rides, club newsletter and hotline, and membership with the Colorado State Snowmobile Association (CSA). Club Meetings are held at the Clements Recreation Center, 303-987-4822, located at 1580 Yarrow Street. Club meetings are open to anyone interested in the sport, and they may attend the meetings held the first Wednesday of the month (Sept.-May) at 7:00pm. The MHSC mail address is P.O. Box 260368 Denver Colorado 80226-0368.

St Anthony’s Flight for Life

Flight For Life, operating out of Denver, Frisco, Pueblo and Colorado Springs, is part of the emergency transport services of Centura Health. Staffed with highly trained nurses, paramedics and respiratory therapists, Flight For Life is able to handle all patients in need of air medical transport, or ground transport by the Critical Care Ground Transport ambulance.

Since 1993, Flight For Life has been accredited by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems. We are proud that our emergency air and ambulance system was the first in Colorado to achieve this designation. This service is part of St. Anthony Hospitals, and now Centura Health’s commitment. Generous contributions from a grateful public help significantly.

Colorado has 104,427 square miles of terrain, 40% of which is mountainous. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC), greater than 1 million acres of Colorado is considered avalanche terrain (CAIC). Colorado leads the nation in fatalities caused by avalanches.

Community Need

Surviving from an avalanche is a race against time:

• At 15 minutes about 9 in 10 survive, but by 30 minutes only 50% survive.
• About 1 in 5 will survive at 2 hours, but by 3 hours only about 1 in 30 will survive (CAIC).

Colorado Sheriffs, Search and Rescues, Ski Patrols and Flight For Life Colorado recognized a need to save time, energy, and precious minutes in the event of an avalanche burial or backcountry rescue. All shared the desire to help those injured in the Colorado backcountry get the care they need and get it quickly.

What is the Avalanche Deployment Program?A program developed by Flight For Life Colorado to rapidly deploy an avalanche team to the site of an avalanche where someone has been buried. There was the desire to serve the community in a more efficient and better way. Thus, the Avalanche Deployment Program and Lift Ticket Programs were developed. A rigid training program was initiated to properly train teams to safely operate in and around the aircraft.

A Relationship That Works

• Combines the skill, expertise, and stamina of SAR and Avalanche teams.
• Combined with the use of a FFL CO helicopter and crew to expedite the rescue of an injured or ill party and evacuate them to a tertiary care center.

The Team Players and Their Role Avalanche Deployment

• A Level II certified snow tech, (generally they are located at the local ski patrol) the most senior tech’s participate in the program. They determine snow conditions at the scene and the scene’s safety. They perform a survey of the terrain from the air.

How it Works

1. Avalanche reported or witnessed burial, missing person, or tracks in and no tracks out.
2. 911 is phoned, Sheriff is notified and requests SAR and Avalanche Deployment.
3. St. Anthony Communication Center is notified to handle the deployment.
4. Closest available aircraft is dispatched to pick up the closest avalanche team.
5. The avalanche team is inserted into the closest and safest proximity to the slide.
6. After the first insertion, if SAR is requested, the Flight For Life Colorado helicopter will shuttle in SAR to help extricate the patient.
7. Then, medical care is handed over to the Flight For Life Colorado medical team.

Participants in Avalanche Deployment

• Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol
• Breckenridge Ski Patrol
• Beaver Creek Ski Patrol
• Eldora Ski Patrol
• Keystone Ski Patrol
• Loveland Ski Patrol
• Summit County Search and Rescue
• Alpine Rescue
• Front Range Rescue Dogs
• Rocky Mountain Rescue Group