Backcountry helicopter rescues signal start of winter

MAT-SU — Helicopters were deployed this week in a pair of backcountry rescues on the first snowy day of winter.

Alaska State Troopers say both rescues happened late in the day Sunday. The first was called in at 7:28 p.m. on a Willow-area four-wheeler trail, the second at 11:06 p.m. in Hatcher Pass.

The first rescue was of three adult men and a 14-year-old girl who were out riding four-wheelers. One of the men, Todd Sterner, 47, of Anchorage, called for help.

“Sterner said they were wet and cold and did not have the winter gear needed to survive the evening. They were able to start a fire to keep warm,” troopers report.

The party was found 8 miles down Sheep Creek Trail No. 1 off of Amundsen Avenue.

A pair of troopers accessed the area first by snowmachine, but couldn’t take anyone out due to poor trail conditions. So they called in a military helicopter from the Rescue Coordination Center in Anchorage.

“They were flown to Providence Hospital in Anchorage for evaluation due to poor weather in the Valley making Mat-Su Regional Hospital not accessible,” according to the press release.

The second rescue was called in for hikers overdue in Hatcher Pass. Two people had left Nov. 9 and hiked the Gold Mint Trail with the intention of spending the night in a cabin 9 miles out.

“Due to the weather conditions at the time of the report and the fact that Hatcher Pass had received in excess of 4 feet of snow on Nov. 10, it was determined that attempts to locate the hikers was not possible,” troopers report.

So they went out the next morning at 11:10 a.m. with an AST helicopter searching from the air. From the chopper the hikers were spotted quickly, 3 miles from the trailhead in 5 or 6 feet of fresh snow.

The helicopter landed a quarter mile away and troopers broke trail from there to meet up with the hikers.

“The hikers were assisted to HELO 2, where they were loaded inside and transported to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for medical treatment. Both hikers are in stable condition and have been reunited with their family and friends,” according to the AST press statement.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.