Alpha Zulu
Podcast
The Air Zermatt podcast that takes as long as a round trip around the Matterhorn.
Air Zermatt is legendary and world-famous. But what is it that makes the Valais helicopter company the talk of the town? People like you and me become heroes, rise above themselves and thus save the lives of others. In this podcast, we tell their exciting, touching and sometimes funny stories.
A new episode every fortnight.
Now available on the podcast platforms Spotify, Apple Podcast and Co.
The podcast programmes are produced in German or dialect in order to reproduce the stories as authentically as possible.
Get in touch with us
Do you have suggestions or questions about a podcast programme? Please send us an e-mail at alphazulu@air-zermatt.ch.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Stormy weather on the glacier
Yann Dupertuis
In April 2019, three climbers from two different rope teams fall into one and the same crevasse in the Monte Rosa mountains. A fierce storm and thick fog complicate the rescue operation by Air Zermatt. But the rescuers manage to bring several alpinists to safety. For one alpinist, however, all help comes too late. The rescuers have to leave the victim in the crevasse - forever. This podcast episode shows impressively that not every rescue has a happy ending.
First direct rescue from the Eiger north face
Günther Amann
Günther Amann was the first pilot of Air Zermatt. An important milestone in Günther Amann's flying career and at the same time in the alpine rescue world was the first helicopter rescue from the north face of the Eiger. On the occasion of a helicopter symposium of the Swiss Air Rescue on Kleine Scheidegg, Amann and his pilot colleague Siegfried Stangier demonstrated an action with the 25-meter rescue winch on the north face of the Eiger. Only one year later, in the year 1971, the first emergency occurred.
Every Minute counts
Dr. Philipp Venetz
Seriously injured people benefit from rapid transport to hospital. That is why Dr Philipp Venetz fights against time during his rescue missions. "Helicopter rescues can be challenging: Wind, steep terrain and little space in the helicopter can challenge us," says the Medical Director of Air Zermatt. And yet it is fascinating what a crew consisting of pilots, paramedics and a physician achieve on their missions day after day. Behind every mission is an individual fate in which the crew sometimes goes to its limits.
The fall into icy depths
Cornelia Rebsamen
40 meters! That's how deep Cornelia Rebsamen fell into a crevasse during her alpine tour in the Monte Rosa massif. Her fight for survival begins: "Am I paralyzed? Where is my partner? How do I get help?" Rebsamen is injured in the thigh. She can act. And does so. Somehow she manages to call Air Zermatt for help from the deep crevasse with her cell phone. The rescue specialists free her from the crevasse and the Air Zermatt rescue crew flies the mountain enthusiast directly to the Inselspital in Bern. But her life is never the same after this crevasse fall.
En route with the ambulance
Benjamin Hischier
Air Zermatt has been operating the ambulance service in the inner Mattertal since 1997. Every year, the paramedics carry out around 1000 ambulance missions. This is also the case for Benjamin Hischier, who has been part of the Air Zermatt team since 2022. "No two days are the same, every mission is unique," says paramedic Hischier. Nevertheless, he has to be prepared for all possible scenarios at all times. Being a paramedic means being a people person, says Hischier. "That's why I like to have missions that challenge me not only medically, but also on a human level."
A freezing Rescue
Thomas Zumtaugwald
At the beginning of May 2022, the experienced mountain rescue specialist made an extraordinary rescue together with Air Zermatt. A man falls outside the piste above Zermatt through a blanket of snow into a rushing mountain stream and is swept away by the ice-cold water. When the patient no longer responds to the rescuers, Zumtaugwald does not hesitate for a second and climbs into the ice-cold glacier water after the patient. "I felt myself getting dizzy. Yes, I was scared," confesses the mountain guide.