The handsome, red and white liveried helicopters that you occasionally see, sometimes with payloads dangling beneath, are from the fleet of Air Zermatt. Founded in 1968, Air Zermatt has had an integral part to play in the day to day life of Zermatt and has been involved in helping to grow the infrastructure and save many a stranded and injured climber or hiker who got into difficulties in the rugged and sometimes barely accessible terrain that surrounds the village. Apart from this essential work, Air Zermatt is in the business of providing thousands of holiday makers with the experience of a lifetime, with sightseeing flights over the incredible and wonderful scenery that only the Alps can provide. Over 8,000 passengers a year enjoy the unforgettable and giddying thrill of a spectacular flight in one of Air Zermatt’s ultra modern helicopters. Heli-skiing is also another service that Air Zermatt provides for the more accomplished and adventurous skier who seek the off piste impossible to reach any other way.
The rescue capabilities of Air Zermatt’s highly trained pilots are respected far and wide and well beyond the borders of Switzerland, recently a mountain rescuer and pilot from Air Zermatt received the Heroism Award for their bold and courageous rescue of three climbers in the high peaks of Nepal. It was the highest rescue mission ever undertaken with a helicopter and the third time that the rescue team at Air Zermatt have been recognised with this prestigious accolade. Modern mountain rescue techniques owe their existence to Air Zermatt, longline rescue from sheer cliff faces and tripod rescue from glacier crevasses were refined and developed by Air Zermatt’s highly skilled and courageous team.
A fair proportion of the work undertaken by Air Zermatt involves the transportation of materials to construction projects in hard to reach locations, with anything from steel girders to grand pianos airlifted on site from the valley far below. Forestry work on the steepest mountain slopes is also undertaken and makes a very difficult and sometimes near impossible task a lot more feasible. Supplying mountain refuges is another important aspect of the day to day business of Air Zermatt.
In addition airport transfers are another service that the wealthy often make use of, saving a lot of time in the process. It’s fair to say that without Air Zermatt, the folk of Zermatt and beyond would find life a lot more arduous and taxing, after all lugging a grand piano up a mountain wouldn’t be much fun, with a lot of huffing and puffing, moaning and groaning, and idle speculation about why the owner
didn’t take up the Kazoo instead.
Photography (main image) Sam Britz: www.sambritz.com