Gerold Biner: Over the six-thousanders in the Himalayas one last time
Gerold Biner and his team are currently in Manali, India. Every year, a group of pilots, task specialists and technicians travel to the town of Manali, located at an altitude of 2,000 meters, where Air Zermatt has a share in a heliskiing company. The pilots take advantage of the daily heliskiing flights to train their skills at altitudes of up to 7,000 meters. After 24 years of trips to India, Gerold Biner is probably training in the Himalayas for the last time.
Gerold, how has your stay in India been so far and what are you doing there?
The base is excellently designed and we have been enjoying the powder snow with our guests in the Indian Himalayas for three and a half weeks. In addition to the heliskiing, we also fly out on rescue missions for the local people.
Yesterday, for example, four local tourers didn’t come back from a big skiing trip as planned and we had to go out and look for them. Thank God, we found them safe and sound.
How many times have you visited Manali and what were you particularly excited about?
I have been coming to Manali since 1999 and especially look forward to meeting the friendly mountain inhabitants. There is a remote village between Manali and Dharamsala called Bara Bhanghal. A few hundred people live there completely isolated, with no roads or electricity.
In the fall, most of the cow herds and sheep are taken south on a five-day journey over the passes to warmer areas. A few of the families, amounting to 16 people this year, stay behind to guard the village and survive the winter with scarce resources. Last week we visited the villagers in Bara Bhanghal; for me it was a reunion with people I had met before 20 years ago. It was an unforgettable experience not only for me, but also for our guests.
And then, of course, it was fantastic to see the incredible mountain world, where the peaks are between 6,000 and 7,000 meters high.
We refine the take-off and landing technique at the performance limit of the machine.
How many pilots and task specialists are there with you and why is this training so important for them?
At the moment, Benjamin Zenhäuser as pilot and Andreas Lehmann as mechanic and flight paramedic are here with me in Manali. For us pilots, it is extremely important to do this training so that we can master the difficult rescue flights back home. Every day we land with a fully loaded helicopter up to 5,000 meters above sea level, thus refining our landing and take-off techniques while pushing the machine to the limits of its performance.
What is a typical day for you in India?
The mountain guides, mechanics, and pilots meet for a briefing at 7:30 a.m. to define the daily schedule. After breakfast, we take to the air at around 9:00 a.m. and everyone returns to the base around 2:30 p.m. to enjoy the a delicious meal prepared by our chef Bob.
What challenges does Manali present in terms of flying conditions? Where do the pilots need particular skill and what parallels are there to our mountains?
The challenges are roughly the same. The main challenge is the landing technique, which we practice up to 40 times a day, thus also increasing our self-confidence. The swirling powder snow makes it hard to see during the final approach and here, too, it is important to land the helicopter accurately without losing our bearings. This situation often occurs during our rescue flights.
The untouched powder snow is great for skiing.
What infrastructure is available to you and where do you live during this time?
Of course, the technical standards for the base infrastructure cannot be compared with those in Valais. We can maintain our helicopters in the warm hangar. Here, the Indian task specialists, who incidentally come to us for training, have to cover and service the helicopter every evening. We live just under 20 meters away from the heliport in a hotel that provides everything you need in a heliskiing lodge.
What do you do in your free time?
After the debriefing at around 4:00 p.m., we often drive to Manali or to the neighboring village of Vashisht to do some shopping, drink a beer, or simply visit acquaintances. We have made many friends here over the years and enjoy a good reputation thanks to the rescue operations for the local population. By the way, practically every taxi now has an Air Zermatt sticker, which is part of the reason why I feel so at home here!
The closing remarks are all yours.
After 24 years, this will probably be the last time I get to fly in the Indian Himalayas. The “60 years” limit applies to helicopter pilots here, too. So I’m enjoying every flight and every moment in this incredible mountain world.
After work, the team enjoys time together in warm temperatures.
