Kirtland Air Force Base Airmen saved two hikers this weekend.

Around 7 p.m. Saturday, the 512th Rescue Squadron received a request to support a search-and-rescue mission in Durango, Colorado, for two hikers and their two llamas who had been missing for 36 hours.

“We had Tech. Sgt. Mike Kelly come in and run the numbers for us (to see) if the mission would be a possible go,” said 512th RQS pilot Maj. Lee Boedeker.

The terrain is rugged with an elevation of about 11,000 feet in the area of the mission. The helicopters would need to operate on the minimum of fuel to decrease the weight.

Kelly gave the green light for the mission. When that was cleared, around 50 people returned to work after the duty day to support the 12 performing the search.

The 512th RQS sent two HH-60G Pavehawks, each with two pilots, two flight engineers,and two pararescuemen.

They arrived in Durango around 1 a.m.

“The weather was beautifully clear,” said 512th RQS flight engineer Tech Sgt. Derria Kemp.

Kemp said wind was minimal. They also had moonlight till 2:30 a.m., but the temperature was just above freezing.

The mission might not have been successful if the weather had not been so perfect.

Civilian search crews had been flying during the daytime, but they had to stop when the sun set.

“We decided to focus our search on a small area based on the data we had received from the search and rescue coordinator in Durango,” Boedeker said.

The area was approximated based on the type of terrain, the length of time the women had been missing and the possible distance someone could have traveled.

Flying in a search pattern, the aircrews soon spotted a tent near where the Durango SAR coordinator said the hiker’s base camp should have been.

The aircrews had to spend about three hours burning fuel to be able to safely land next to the tents. There were no signs of life.

When Boedeker’s aircraft landed next to the tent, a man came out to meet them.

The man, called Jack, said the people they were looking for were his wife and her cousin. He said they were going to hike up to the ridge to look down on the lake.

The area the hikers were supposed to be in was above the tree line, so direct line of sight to camp and to the destination should not have been a problem.

“He gave us more information he hadn’t told the civilian search and rescue,” Boedeker said.

Jack said once the women had hiked to the top of the ridge, they were going to hike a loop to the northwest.

The cousin was from Ohio and had a bad hip, according to reports the 512th had received from the Durango SAR. Also, she had been having difficulty breathing.

Armed with this information, the aircrews launched again with a new search area.

The aircrews flew using night vision goggles.

“With the NVGs, we had lots of starlight to assist us in seeing the search area,” Boedeker said.

They found the hikers in a canyon, because the women pointed a flashlight right at the helicopters.

“A flashlight while wearing NVGs is pretty obvious,” Kemp said.

The helicopter had to circle around to the top of the canyon to fly down into it due to possible winds. The aircrews confirmed the sighting of the missing hikers and their llamas at 4:30 a.m.

The Airmen had to create a plan of approach, to drop the PJs down and be able to pick them and the survivors up. The canyon is narrow with sides that slope close to a 45-degree angle.

“We again had to burn fuel to make sure we were light enough to hover,” Boedeker said.

While Boedeker flew into the canyon to drop off the PJs the second helicopter returned to the base camp to conserve fuel and wait.

“When we in-filled, I hovered about 20 feet from the ground, and that was as close as I could come and my rotators were near the ground on the uphill side,” Boedeker said.

Kemp started getting the PJs, Tech. Sgt. Lucas Ferrari and Staff Sgt. Dan Lillis, hoisted to the ground.

“It was probably a 40-foot hoist even though the aircraft was hovering 20 feet in the air,” Kemp said.

The PJs had to be lowered onto steep, rocky terrain, so Kemp had to keep them from spinning and swaying as much as possible.

After they were on the ground and the hoist retracted, the aircrew flew a holding pattern while waiting for the survivors to be medically evaluated and treated.

“The second crew notified the husband at this time that they had both been found alive,” Kemp said.

After the PJs were ready to be picked up, the crew returned to hover.

“We had to move fast; we were almost at the minimum fuel we could use,” Boedeker said.

Kemp said he dropped the hoist and got the first PJ and survivor up, and Kelly helped unhook them and bring them into the Pavehawk.

“It really helps when you have experienced pilots and (flight engineers),” Kemp said.

He said it took about a minute and a half to load everyone onto the helicopter.

They couldn’t extract the llamas, due to their size.

“The women had to turn the llamas loose simply because we couldn’t bring them with us,” Boedeker said.

In some cases, if survivors have a pet with them and can hold it while being hoisted, it can be rescued as well.

Once the hikers were inside the aircraft, Boedeker radioed the second crew so they could also inform the husband.

“When they offered him a ride back to the Durango airport to meet with his wife, he refused and said he was going back to sleep,” Boedeker said.

When the aircrews arrived at the Durango airport, an ambulance met them.

“These women had given up hope of survival. They had even recorded their own obituaries on their cellphones. But, they refused to be transported by ambulance to the hospital,” Boedeker said.

His helicopter made it to the Durango airport on the minimum fuel required.

Airport staff came in early to refuel the Pavehawks and give the aircrews coffee and snacks.

“It was very nice of them to do and allowed us to refresh ourselves for the flight home,” Boedeker said.

The flying time of the mission was about 7½ hours when the aircraft landed back at Kirtland at 7:30 a.m.

Boedeker and Kemp thanked the people who supported them in the mission.

“We had high-fives all around after a successful mission and we’re ready for when the next call comes,” Boedeker said.