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Claudia Juen, 38, is currently the only female helicopter emergency medical services crewmember in the Austrian Alps. Tomas Kika Photos

No High Heels in the High Hills

By Tomas Kika

Published on: May 26, 2017
Estimated reading time 12 minutes, 31 seconds.

Heli-Austria crewmember Claudia Juen is an accomplished mountain rescuer who also holds a surprising day job.

You simply can’t overlook her pink helmet, be it in the left front seat of the red Heli-Austria MD 902 Explorer, or on the slope rushing to a patient along with a doctor and a large medical backpack.

“Patients are often surprised,” admitted 38-year-old Claudia Juen, the only female helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) crewmember in the Austrian Alps, “but always in a positive way! Especially if we come with a lady doctor colleague together. Well, we have no female pilot at Martin Flugrettung, so a three-lady crew is unfortunately not possible at this time.”

A technical crewmember trained in helicopter hoist operations, human external cargo and mountain rescue, Juen flies with the rescue subsidiary of Heli-Austria, the Austrian helicopter company led by progressive entrepreneur and pilot Roy Knaus. Known for its expertise in technical rescues and high-altitude operations in the Austrian Alps, Martin Flugrettung mainly operates MD 902 Explorer helicopters (see p.62, Vertical 911, Fall 2015) although these will soon be replaced by the new Airbus Helicopters H135 (EC135 T3).

When the occasion calls for it, Juen is all business, but behind the serious look is a little girl’s dream that began when she watched a helicopter landing on a ski slope.

“It all must have started there, at a rather young age — while skiing with one of my five sisters, I happened to be watching a helicopter on a rescue mission,” Juen recalled. “A lot of noise, wind and power, but so awesome at the same time!”

Claudia Juen, 38, is currently the only female helicopter emergency medical services crewmember in the Austrian Alps. Tomas Kika Photos
Claudia Juen, 38, is currently the only female helicopter emergency medical services crewmember in the Austrian Alps. Tomas Kika Photos

Growing up at the foothills of the Alps some 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) above sea level, mountaineering became a natural part of Claudia’s life. Due to a family situation, she had to take over some duties at their own local farm relatively early in her childhood. She later spent time just down the road, in the luxury ski resort town of Ischgl, where she slipped into a job in tourism.

In fact, if you ever walk into the central Elizabeth Arthotel in Ischgl, it may well happen that Juen’s broad smile welcomes you at the reception desk.

“I am responsible for sales and marketing at one of the top-notch hotels in Ischgl, that is my main job,” explained an elegantly dressed Juen while sitting in the hotel’s lounge, her high heels making it hard to believe that two to five times a month she jumps into a twin-turbine helicopter and heads towards the summits to help those in need.

“We only have two or three full-time HEMS crew members at Martin Flugrettung,” she said. “A broad base of HEMS crewmembers and doctors taking duties in addition to their main job is very common here in Austria, and I also do find it smart.”

For more than 12 years, Juen has been returning on missions to the slopes of Ischgl, which is also the place where her helicopter rescue dream was born.
For more than 12 years, Juen has been returning on missions to the slopes of Ischgl, which is also the place where her helicopter rescue dream was born.

When asked whether she prefers high heels or high hills, Juen was quick with an answer: “Both! But not at the same time. It is 50-50, I’d say. I love the mountains and chose to spend my life there, but at the same time, I am not a person wearing trekking shoes everywhere all year round.”

The Path to the Top

Juen’s journey to Martin Flugrettung was a lengthy one. Along with her high-heels job, Juen spent enough time in the surrounding high hills to qualify as a mountain rescuer. Pursuing her passion for rescue further, she got involved with the Austrian Red Cross, training to become an instructor as well as a team leader for catastrophic emergencies.

Juen used every day off from work to pursue her studies in emergency medicine. After many hundreds of hours of practical training, she was offered a volunteer position with a local helicopter company.

“I was lucky to receive an extensive winch operator training from Swiss helicopter rescue company Rega,” she said. “After countless hours flown and many lessons learned I became the only female certified winch operator instructor in Austria.”

Good organizational skills are essential to the success of every rescue mission.
Good organizational skills are essential to the success of every rescue mission.

Since 2005, Juen has flown some 1,300 rescue missions in the Austrian Alps. Heli-Austria recently took delivery of the first of four hoist-equipped H135s, so Juen’s skills and experience should prove valuable as Martin Flugrettung transitions to winch operations. Already, she is one of only a few HEMS crewmembers in the company who can supervise new crewmembers during their on-the-job training.

Rarely will you spot Juen not active. “This is my day off,” Juen said while kneeling in the cabin of the red MD 902 at the Martin 2 base near the small town of Karres, enthusiastically cleaning medical equipment in between rescue missions. Her days usually start early. “I am an early bird, but I love to sleep,” she said.

A talent for organization helps Juen stay focused, even through the most stressful days. “If things are organized, they more likely go well, even if it is under demanding conditions or a lot of stuff at the same time,” she said.

This emphasis on organization is an asset in her rescue work. As she observed, “There [are] a lot of checklists in aviation. I always follow my internal checklists and that is what I also try to suggest to my younger colleagues who come to fly for the supervision flights with me.”

As an example, Juen described the procedure she follows every time she responds to a call for help. “It all starts with receiving the scramble message — as a very first task I take the coordinates and the message from the dispatch over the radio, [since] with the helmet on, one has difficulties to hear properly,” she said. “Then I put the radio belt and the helmet on, only then I go to the helicopter which is ready to start the engines, and so I watch the process properly for the pilot from outside.

There's no difference between men's and women's duties in the role of a HEMS crewmember in the Austrian Alps.
There’s no difference between men’s and women’s duties in the role of a HEMS crewmember in the Austrian Alps.

“I make a safety walk around the chopper, check the doors closed and systems work. Then I sit in. My cockpit doors are still open, so I fasten my waist seat belts first, plug the intercom in, then I close the doors so it gets more silent in the cockpit, and we can discuss the next steps with the crew. Only then I fasten the chest seat belts so that I have a freedom of movements as long as necessary. Then we confirm the most efficient track with the pilot and take off for the mission. I follow these steps every single time the same way.”

Responding to the Call

In fact, that is just what Juen does when she departs on her next rescue mission in somewhat cloudy and rainy weather, with Vertical 911 along for the ride.

“That is quite typical for me,” she says, laughing. “I always receive the scramble message in a challenging weather. I got used to it, that’s alright.”

Weather is not the only stress factor that can be present in helicopter mountain rescue. According to Juen, noise, downwash and distorted radio messages, “combined with often very limited maneuverable space when offloaded somewhere on top of the ridge — that all can compile a serious bunch of problems if not trained properly.”

Whether in the air or on the slopes, you simply can't overlook Juen's bright pink helmet.
Whether in the air or on the slopes, you simply can’t overlook Juen’s bright pink helmet.

From her instructor’s perspective, Juen sees the success of a HEMS crewmember as being based on three key skill sets: “A solid helicopter mountain rescuer should be able to safely operate in the alpine, often very exposed, area. If one cannot manage to survive in alpine conditions, it is very difficult to try helping or rescuing others.

“Secondly, a good understanding of urgent medicine procedures and [medications] is of vast help to the doctor. Being one step ahead and fluently assisting the doctor who is taking care of heavily injured patient in demanding conditions could be crucial.

“Last but not least, and the most key asset of a good HEMS crewmember, is full assistance to the pilot. From refueling the aircraft through navigational help all the way to safety procedures, there is no room for mistakes in this one.”

On this particular call, upon arriving at the site of the rescue, Juen controls the scene until the rotor stops turning. We’re just meters away from an injured skier on the slopes of her home resort of Ischgl. She handles the stretchers with ease; her cooperation with the doctor, Christian Niederwanger, is reminiscent of a well-rehearsed play.

A crewmember's solid understanding of urgent medical procedures can be of great help to the doctor on scene.
A crewmember’s solid understanding of urgent medical procedures can be of great help to the doctor on scene.

The patient, a 54-year-old skier with a thorax injury and suspected rib fracture, receives 15 milligrams of morphine in combination with 10 milligrams of metoclopramide. After a quick call to coordinate the transport, and upon re-positioning to the vacuum mattress, the patient is loaded into the MD 902 for the journey to the hospital in Zams.

Juen manages the space around the helicopter, and keeps an eye on the six o’clock position during the category A departure. Later, we ask her whether the perspective she gains from the air is also useful to her in her life on the ground. “There is no question about it,” she says firmly, flipping up her helmet’s sun visor. “The higher you fly, the more you see.”

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