(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD) conducted high angle rescue training on Wednesday, April 16, at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo). It’s part of a yearly safety certification for both the fire department and for the zoo’s Mountaineer Sky Ride chair lift.

Any time you’re headed up into the air or you’re out enjoying the natural landscape, there is some risk involved–that’s why CSFD does the training, just in case the risk becomes a reality.

“The zoo and these chairlifts, they have a lot of backup systems. There’s so many backup systems, that it probably will never happen. We have to be prepared in case it is,” said Justin Koch, a CSFD Captain.

Although they can do these rescues all across the city, the department also covers from Cheyenne Mountain State Park to parts of Blodgett Peak. They estimate they respond to about 40 high angle rescues each year. The rescues mostly consist of getting people down from high places, or pulling them up from down below.

“Through Cheyenne Canyon, through Garden of the Gods, we do quite a bit. We had a vehicle over the edge last week, that we had to bring a team of personnel down, extricate the person, and then we had to use a system to bring it back up,” said Koch.

The Zoo’s Mountaineer Sky Ride used in Wednesday’s training opens back up for the season on May 1. According to the Zoo, all hours are weather permitting.