""I'd rather just be shoved down the mountain.""
""I think the adrenaline takes over a little bit," said downhill racer Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. "You just have to take it easy. You have to trust everyone around you because they know best.""
""You're looking up," Lie said. "The only thing you see is the chopper. Sometimes, you're rotating because it's a line, and you just see the chopper going around and around.""
Helicopter long-lining evacuates injured skiers by lifting a bundled patient in a basket attached to a cable, often with a harnessed medical attendant riding alongside. The basket can appear to lie across the attendant's lap as it is raised into the helicopter. Spectators often find the sight terrifying, watching athletes dangled high above trees. Ski racers treat long-lining as part of the sport, relying on adrenaline, controlled breathing, and trust in rescue crews. Severe injuries such as broken legs and torn ACLs prompt immediate air evacuation to hospitals for rapid medical care.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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