Behind the White Cross of the Ski Patrol

Hope that you won’t need an ambulance on the slopes. But know that if you need medical attention, it will be there.

Yesterday I went to an open house for a local chapter of the National Ski Patrol. It was a soft-sell recruiting session for new patrollers. Though this ski area has nearly 100 patrollers, they’re looking for more.

We met over at the ski patrol building, and went to the chalet to secure our caffeinated beverages of choice. It’s here that I was introduced to the fact that the ski patrol isn’t a seat-of-the-pants operation; there are protocols to observe. According to OSHA for example, you’re not supposed to have food or drink in a room used for medical treatment. (OSHA is the federal agency that issues regulations related to workplace safety.)

WHY PATROL?
Each of the recruits talked about their reasons for showing up on this day. My reason? I wanted to gain some perspective for my web site. Other reasons included “bringing several kids here is expensive; some free season passes would be nice” and “I’m going to be here all day anyway; I might as well make use of the time.”

Actually, most people find more than one reason to join the patrol, and with experience, they find more reasons to stay in the patrol. There’s the camaraderie and teamwork (Alexis de Tocqueville would have felt at home). There’s knowing (and reviewing) first aid principles that have proven useful not only on the hill, but elsewhere. There’s also the fact that a person’s ski and riding skills will advance. And face it, a small Midwestern resort (where this event was taking place) isn’t large enough or challenging enough to occupy a person’s interest for long. Being part of the patrol expands the experience.

TWO TASKS
The local patrol is part of the National Ski Patrol, which establishes various protocols and expectations. There are rules for giving first aid, and rules for transporting people off the mountain. In fact, the two parts of ski patrol most emphasized today were getting injured people off the slopes in a quick and safe manner, and offering them first aid that will, if need be, get them ready for being transported by ambulance elsewhere.

The pattern of injuries has changed, the leader of the patrol told us. A lot of the traffic is now walk in, wrist injuries to snowboarders rather than, say, knee or leg injuries to skiers.

ONE BIG HAPPY
I also met some experienced members of the patrol. They spoke of the reasons they joined, why they stay, and what they find enjoyable about this particular patrol. Management support of the patrol stood out as one key factor; a strong sense of solidarity on the patrol is another.

I’m amazed that patrol and ski area managements squabble. Most patrollers (at least here; I don’t know about what happens in the Rockies) are volunteers. The care and feeding of volunteers is an important consideration for any organization.

And let me emphasize that volunteering comes at a cost. Yes, patrollers get free tickets (at this area, at least, for their minor children as well). But the face significant opportunity costs. There is a 50-hour classroom requirement, to start with, plus another 8 hours of refresher training each year. Official jackets and fanny packs or backpacks in which to store the supplies, a couple hundred dollars, are purchased by patrollers. And, I wasn’t clear on this, but I think they must purchase their initial basket of supplies.

Patrollers also get lessons in how to ski and ride. This may seem ridiculous; after all, you would expect that people who want to serve on patrol already know how to ski and ride. And in fact, you do have to already know what you’re doing on the snow. This is not the place for a newbie to get free lessons. As part of the vetting process, we took a few runs down the steepest pitch offered by the ski area. (We all did fine.) The reasoning was simple, and sound: injuries can occur anywhere. You need to manage whatever terrain on which people will need help, in any snow conditions.

A patroller does undergo ski or snowboard training that goes back to the basics. The purpose of the snow training is not to create powerful movement, or fast movement, or graceful movement, but stable movement. If you’re sick or injured and riding in a sled being pulled by a patroller, the last thing you want is a bumpy ride. Oh yes, you can indeed be a snowboarder and serve on the patrol: the person who took the lead in the demonstration of toboggan handling was using snowboard equipment.

(Question: I’ve seen, out west, people pull toboggans with a snowmobile. Why not here? I don’t know. Snowmobiles are used by management to quickly transport patrollers to the top of a slope, if need be.)

Patrollers do have the authority to pull the lift ticket of a skier or rider who endangers others, goes out of bounds, and so forth. But I get the impression that the patrollers prefer that management “goons” deal with those problems, and focus instead on first aid and transportation.

Still, customer safety depends on good customer behavior. The person who skis out of control can injure himself. That’s bad enough. But such a person can also injure others. Then bad behavior certainly becomes a broader concern. However a resort chooses to accomplish the task, “law enforcement” and first aid go hand in hand.

ADDENDUM:
I just looked at the web site of the national organization. It looks like some ugly political debates and fights are going on. Over time, even the best organizations lose sight of their original vision, become bureaucratic at the expense of the mission, or change in other, harmful ways. It looks like some of the same problems may be going on here.