SUMMIT COUNTY — Taking in the crystal-clear dawn atop Loveland Pass Sunday is a neat perk of being Summit County Rescue Group's training director. Volunteer rescuer Matt Hage was one of many group members prepping an avalanche field for an Alpine Rescue Group training scenario.

“I love the camaraderie, the sacrifice and being out there for the greater good,” Hage said of his work as a backcountry volunteer.

Hage joined the Summit County Rescue Group in 1994 — he, along with his good friend Joe Ben Slivka, was asked to join as a Summit High School senior after the two boys discovered a suicide victim during a mountain bike ride.

“We arrived on scene, and got the ambulance up there,” he said. “Our biology teacher was on the rescue group and heard about what had happened. He was the mission coordinator at the time.”

Hage has since been a member of Summit County Rescue Group on and off for the past 15 years. He left Summit County for five years to train and work as a pilot.

“I'm working with a phenomenal group of people in Summit County Rescue Group,” he said. “It's a diverse group with totally different backgrounds and life experiences. To impact the lives of people in the backcountry is huge. It's quite a privilege actually.”

Community service isn't just something Hage does to pass the time. It also runs in his blood — both his parents are humanitarians, and his mother, Deb Hage, currently runs the free Rotarian community dinner at the Elks Lodge.

“Both my parents set a phenomenal example,” Hage said.

A longtime local

Hage moved to Summit County with his parents and numerous siblings in 1984, and he graduated from Summit High School in 1995. He's one of nine Hage kids — he has one biological sister and seven adopted brothers and sisters.

“There was never a dull moment,” he said. “It was awesome. You always had someone to play with or be mad at.”

It was 1999 when Hage began seriously considering aviation as a potential career. At the time he was working as a Summit Stage bus driver and he was hoping to buy a condo in the county.

“It really hit me one night driving the bus,” he said. “It was time to go do something and flying was it.”

Hage temporarily moved away and learned to be a pilot at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Rangely. It took three years to get certified and then he spent an additional year as an instructor for the college to gain flight experience.

He now flies Embraer 145 regional jets for Chautauqua Airlines, which is a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings (it also owns Frontier and Midwest), and his job is based in Milwaukee. He commutes to Wisconsin for his work.

When asked what he loves about his pilot job, Hage said “I like the professionalism, dedication and precision it takes to do the job right every single time. It's an exciting job as well. You get to see things no one else gets to see.”

“I travel to all the exotic locations the Midwest has to offer,” Hage added with a laugh. “ ... The only thing that was going to get me out of this county is flying. Otherwise, I would have never left. My friends and family brought me back, and of course the Summit County Rescue Group.”

It's no surprise Hage's love for Summit County runs deep.

“Growing up, it was totally idyllic,” he said. “It was totally enclosed, and there was a safe, strong, local presence. Everyone knew everybody. There was an immense amount of freedom when I was younger. To some extent, that still exists.”

Caitlin Row can be reached at (970) 668-4633.