ALERT a frequent flier to Glacier

Glacier National Park officials and the ALERT helicopter were unusually busy with medical incidents Monday and Tuesday.

The Kalispell-based medical helicopter made five flights to Glacier in two days, including two incidents in which visitors died from cardiac arrest.

On Monday afternoon, a 67-year-old man from Indiana was hiking in the St. Mary Falls area with his wife on a ranger-led program when he went into cardiac arrest. 

A ranger and other hikers gave the man cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. ALERT and the Babb Ambulance responded, but the man was declared dead at the scene.

Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., a California man, 75, died on the Iceberg-Ptarmigan Trail near Many Glacier. CPR was initiated by his family and park rangers used an automated external defibrillator to try to revive him. 

ALERT responded but the man was declared dead at the scene.

Three other ALERT flights on Monday had better outcomes.

On Monday afternoon, a 61-year-old man from Illinois was visiting Logan Pass when he experienced chest pain and shortness of breath at the Hidden Lake Overlook. He was transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center by ALERT.

Later Monday afternoon, a 79-year-old woman lost consciousness while hiking the Loop Trail about one mile from Going-to-the-Sun Road. Rangers provided medical assistance. ALERT and Three Rivers Ambulance from Columbia Falls responded, but the woman was able to hike out on her own.

At about 5:15 Monday, a 51-year-old man on the Loop Trail experienced difficulty due to a kidney stone. Park rangers, fire crew members and other personnel responded and took him to a landing zone where ALERT picked him up and flew him to the Kalispell hospital.

Visitors to Glacier are urged to drink fluids often to avoid dehydration, to eat snacks and avoid hiking during the hottest times of day or choose shaded hikes during midday.