Anne Harris

Flight nurse Anne Harris, 38, was drawn to the job by her love of studying medicine and her attraction to high-adrenaline situations.

She met her husband, Dan, during an EMT course in college, and initially she wanted to work in developing countries. During breaks in college, she was on support crews for her brother, who was a professional adventure racer.

For her honeymoon, she worked with her brother’s support crew at the Adventure Racing World Series in Switzerland.

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The experience allowed her to travel the globe.

“I wanted to do philanthropic medicine in other countries,” Harris said.

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For the past 2 1/2 years, Harris has been a flight nurse.

The Harrises have been raising a family, and Dan and Anne both recently moved back to Park City, Utah, where they enjoy mountain biking, trail running and Nordic and Alpine skiing.

“Our newest love is stand-up paddleboarding,” Harris said.

The learning never ends for a flight nurse. They have mandatory education to do every shift as well as monthly and quarterly training.

“It’s like being in school all the time,” Harris said. “When you’re not with patients, you’re studying all the time.”

The studying has paid off.

“We’ve given many people in the community a second chance at life,” Harris said. ❱❱❱

Johnross Joseph Doyel

Johnross Joseph Doyel, 33, followed his boyhood dream and for the past 16 months has been piloting air ambulance helicopters for Classic Air Medical.

Doyel started flying in Piper Tomahawk airplanes when he was 13 in Las Vegas. He got hooked and got his pilot’s license around the age 19.

“I blame ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Air Wolf,’” Doyel said.

Doyel envisioned being a Top Gun pilot with the U.S. Navy and joined the ROTC program his freshman year of high school. He decided against a military career and instead hopped into a helicopter during his mid-teens. This led to a lot of opportunities.

He has been an instructor, served as a test pilot, flew Grand Canyon tours, worked for law enforcement and television stations and worked around high voltage power lines.

“In a helicopter, you can pretty much go wherever you want,” Doyel said.

He also had stints in show business.

He flew for National Geographic in Canada and provided aerial shots for a horror movie and for a television series about infestations. He could not recall the names of the films.

He said his goal has always been to be a pilot for rescue missions.

“The desire to serve the community and those in need,” Doyel said.

Doyel lives in Las Vegas, where he helps take care of family, and commutes to Steamboat for his 14-day shifts. Classic’s three other Steamboat pilots live in Oregon, Wyoming and Colorado Springs and stay at crew quarters in West End Village while working in Steamboat.

When not on calls, the pilots constantly monitor the weather and study.

“Operating in the mountain areas requires an incredible amount of situational awareness and knowledge,” Doyel said. ❱❱❱