Page 10 of High Seduction
But this morning a low-pressure ridge had turned everything around. It was cold, but calm enough that she could fly. The frigid temperatures meant other concerns, and she began checklist procedures for liftoff, contacting the local airfield with the word that they’d need clearance soon.
Marcus stuck his head in the door as she worked through systems. “No need to stop at the hospital to pick up a paramedic,” he announced.
She finished three more adjustments before glancing his way, horrified suspicion growing. “Why not?”
“There’s more than enough in place already. They have a full SAR contingent on the hill, only they’re having issues getting at the gondolas suspended over the extreme slopes. That’s where you come in.”
Relief that he hadn’t called Tim in was far too strong. She really needed to get over herself. “Got it. Now let me do my job.”
“Break a leg,” Marcus shouted, closing her in and letting her concentrate.
In a short time the team was in place and Erin lifted off, the low buzz of her headset speakers familiar and calming. Her physical response was always like this in the early moments of a mission. Having to start flying immediately ensured there was no time for the butterflies to get rolling before she had to be on the job and focused.
Tripp turned on the general speakers so he could talk to everyone on the chopper. He’d taken the passenger seat at her side, the rest of them belted into the back where they had jumper seats and stretcher space if needed.
“Everyone comfy?” Tripp asked. He got a chorus of affirmation from the crew before heading into the details. “Ski patrol and search-and-rescue trainees have been working since tenA.M.That storm that blew through last night did a hell of a job on the hill.”
“Did you say the gondola is stuck?” Alisha asked. “Why don’t they use the emergency generator to get it emptied?”
Erin wondered that as well. She glanced over the passing snowfields. The surface was partially covered by the recent heavy snowfall, but more spots than usual were exposed to the tree line by the strong winds they’d experienced.
“It’s too dangerous. Two of the towers supporting the aerial cables have lost structural integrity, and they’re afraid to move anything past them.”
“Damn, that kind of breakdown seems impossible,” Devon said. “I’d assume they do all sorts of testing before opening for the season.”
“It’s not a disaster they could have planned for,” Tripp explained. “They had a power outage about an hour after the gondola was already ferrying passengers up to the hill. Nothing too unusual—figured some water from last night’s storm got into one of the electrical lines and shorted the system. That they could deal with fairly simply. They switched to emergency power, like you suggested, Alisha, and had started to empty out the passengers when one of the gondola operators hit the panic button and shut the whole thing down again. He was watching a cabin rise toward him over the steepest section when the entire tower and gondola listed sharply to the right.”
“Scary.” Alisha looked out the window. “So they turned everything off and... what? Have been evacuating the old-fashioned way ever since?”
“The extremely wet fall we had, in combination with last night’s Chinook winds, weakened the support base of a couple strategic towers. Too much water got worked into cracks in the rocks from the softened snow. Trees shifting in the wind, that kind of thing. Add in the sharp cold snap—conditions were primed to break a section of the cliff away. There were two small landslides this morning when temperatures dropped. Unfortunately, they happened after the lift was already full, so yeah. All the cabins need to be emptied.”
“Any trees on the gondola support lines?”
“Nothing, just the danger caused by the posts. Trees on lines they can deal with, but one tower has lost the base under a full foot and the top is threatening to break away. They can’t run the backup generator and do an orderly evacuation, not with that potential disaster.”
“Damn, and the temperature keeps dropping, doesn’t it?” Devon asked.
Erin shivered even as she stayed en route for the hill. Three hours was a long time to have no heat, or a way to move to stay warm.
“The ski patrol have been evacuating all the people they could on the sections that are low enough, but they don’t want to attempt the areas over the ravines.”
“Those drops are steep.” Anders cut in. “Are we winching them down?”
“If the wind stays low so Erin can put you in place, yes. We’ll go in pairs, partnering up with some of their people as well. The hill has all the backup ground support in place—we just need to get the people out of the gondolas they’ve been trapped in for the last three hours.”
Erin joined the conversation. “I can handle the flying, only let me know if we’re extracting them or dropping them to bugout positions.”
“Time to arrival?” Tripp asked.
“Fifteen minutes.”
Erin ignored the rest of the conversation that buzzed in her ears, even though she kept the speaker open, not only to stay in touch but to get into the swing of the rescue. The energy the team put out invigorated her. Calmed her, in a way. Made her attention narrow to the here and now, which was all she needed to focus on.
As they crested the hill and spotted the parking lot, it was obvious not everything was business as usual. The local SAR had set up tented areas, steam rising from them—places for rest and recovery as they checked the people rescued from their trapped positions for frostbite and reactions. Getting stuck on a lift for an extended period of time wasn’t something that happened often, but all the hills were prepared for it. Erin nodded at the obvious competence shown, everything from the heated recovery areas to the orderly evacuation of the parking area for those who had chosen to ski out.
The ski patrol had cleared the helipad, and she dropped onto the center easily, one member guiding her while keeping the crew who would be joining them behind the safety line.
Tripp gave the order. “Alisha, Devon, you guys and I will buddy up with one of their members and access one gondola each. I’ll make the call as we get there which cabin’s passengers will be flown out, and which lowered to the ground.”
