Evacuation procedure

The sentence that matters most

Helicopter rescue in the Karakoram is not guaranteed. Weather, altitude, daylight, aircraft availability and military clearance all have to align, and any one of them can close the option for days. Anybody who implies otherwise is selling you something. Every plan we write assumes the helicopter does not come.

What is written before you leave

Each itinerary has a stage-by-stage evacuation plan naming, for every camp: the nearest helipad, the drive-out route and its realistic duration, the nearest medical facility that can actually treat the likely problem, and who in this office is awake and reachable. You get it before departure. So does your nominated contact at home.

The order of operations

1. Descend. Losing height treats more altitude illness than anything in the kit, and it starts immediately rather than after a radio call.
2. Stabilise and communicate. Satellite phone with the group, messenger on the lead guide, a scheduled daily check-in with this office so a missed call is itself a signal.
3. Move. Porter carry, stretcher or animal to the nearest point a vehicle reaches. This is the part that takes the time, and it is why camp positions are chosen with it in mind.
4. Request air support only if it genuinely helps. Requesting it is not the same as receiving it, and waiting for one that never arrives has killed people. The ground move starts regardless.

Insurance, which is a condition of travelling

Cover for helicopter evacuation and repatriation, valid to the maximum altitude on your itinerary, is mandatory. We verify the policy before departure and we will not start a trip without it. Guides, porters and staff are insured by us.

Understand what the cover does: it pays for a helicopter. It cannot summon one.

Afterwards

Incident and near-miss reports are filed within 48 hours, including the ones where nothing went wrong but nearly did. The checklist changes as a result or the report was pointless.