Evalu8tur I too like your post and it’s interesting the perspective you provide. This thread started out as if doing these kind of things sets one apart from the crowd and elevates the pilots to some kind of glorified status. Naturally the discussion polarises.
What I like about your post is the statements that you planned well but got caught out. Your Experience bucket filling each time and luck along with skill saves you. However. This in a valley up a hillside for which there must have been a time when an experienced pilot would turn back and not continue climbing into the weather. There are neither rules or demands that permit or oblige the crew to continue climbing into fog. This is the only salient point.
As a community of Rotorheads there has to be some collective agreement that the image portrayed in this flight, albeit a snapshot in time, speaks volumes if you understand the terrain, their training, the rules they should follow and the scope of the authorisation process.
To suggest that a military Commander would readily sanction and if required authorise flight in such conditions is simply naive.
To to this day I operate EMS and very occasionally the weather turns ****e. It’s hard to turn down a task. It hurts inside when we have too and we soul search for days afterwards. However, I am in a supervisory role and for my line pilots, it’s really important that I have the courage to say no when the conditions are likely to be below limits even when I know, my skill sets can get me over the water, into a bay and deliver the patient. And it takes courage to say no especially when the prognosis for the patient could be improved using the helicopter.
Ultimately, if that Dauphin has speared in this thread would dance to a different tune and I have no doubts about that. However, prevention is better than treatment and caution beats enthusiasm every time.
I am am not going to criticise the crew as at some time, as you so eloquently describe, many of us have faced similar conditions. But I will always criticise people who think flight in such conditions is acceptable. It’s not. It’s dangerous for both the cab contents and third parties. If you think otherwise God help you or at least I hope your luck bucket is not yet empty.