• It's probably worth mentioning that I have a small collection of Air Zermatt related stuff hence my slightly elevated interest in getting one.

  • Ha ha, no actually although it was in their jurisdiction. I've used them a few times for recreational purposes and I'm also a bit of a mountaineering/mountain rescue geek.

    Its a pretty cool company. It was created when the local pharmacist's mother had a heart attack and it took them five days to get her to a hospital due to avalanche problems so he trained as a pilot and took out a loan for a helicopter. After that, they basically pioneered modern techniques in crevasse rescue and critical patient care in confined spaces as their levels of mountain tourism went up. They hold the world record for highest mountain rescue by helicopter (well over 7000m) and their medics are seen as a gold standard for in the field emergency care...people travel from all round the world to train with them.

    I think Air Zermatt pilots have won three or four of those gallantry awards (the same award that the guy who ditched in the Hudson got). They're just really good value for a story, such as time time they revived a child that had been under the ice of a frozen lake for over an hour.

    A general interest in their history and what they do, tied in with my passion for climbing and skiing and my use of them to get to difficult locations means I find their memorabilia quite collectible.

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