***Mt. Rainier is only about 45 miles from Lewis/McChord which would be the closest Mil airfield but they haven’t even said, that I’ve heard anyway, that the plane was from there. But it’s one of the closest bases that docked carriers at Everett would park. Rainier, at 14,000+ feet, is tall but it’s right in your face if you’re taking off from McChord. And our Coastie choppers can top it no problem. It’s sounding a lot like someone/something else is involved? Shot down?
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The Growlers are based out of Whidbey Island NAS, about 85 mi. north of Seattle (by road). Everett is south of Whidbey by about 35 miles.
For high altitude SAR and rescue efforts the primary airframe has usually been the CH-47, although the Blackhawks, Jayhawks (USCG), and Seahawks (Navy) have also been used. However, the service ceiling of the Chinook is greater than the Blackhawk (20k ft vs 19k). I have seen more rescues from Mt. Rainier (on the news) using Chinooks than any other airframe.
Mountain rescue/recovery is challenging and dangerous.
This is a USAF Pave Hawk incident from Mt. Hood back in 2002, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjDpVU8qWWc.
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No tail rotor plays a huge part in high elevation ops.