Volunteer Patrol on Snow King
Posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010
My forearms are thoroughly, disturbingly dysfunctional as I write this. Not exactly the result of a long day climbing, this temporary handicap is actually the lingering result of my first day of on-hill training with the volunteer ski patrol of Snow King Resort, and five minutes with a loaded toboggan.
If I may explain: Sure, I was the only person out of six that had to drag the 200-pound guy downhill (not the 120-pound girl), and go the whole way and not switch halfway (OK, I didn’t quite go all the way — guiding the final, steep, 100-meter stretch to the clinic with cramped/numb/unresponsive arms was clearly an invitation to disaster …), but since that is what might happen in real life, that’s the way it goes. And now, I can’t feel my arms.
However, even though the patrol director might be a little wary after the toboggan debacle, this opportunity to see the hill and the job from the ski patrol viewpoint, and to be able to give a little back to the ski community, is something I’ve been looking forward to for awhile.
Known as the Town Hill here in Jackson, Wyo., Snow King holds a special place in local culture. The ski runs rise up just a couple of blocks off the Town Square, and year round the trails are full of people. In winter, the King is the place where the littlest local racers to Olympians from all over the world come to train on its steep, north-facing slopes, and you are as likely to see octogenarians as professional athletes staying in shape by climbing the summer trails. It’s so mellow, yet with endless parties and athletic events, Snow King is the hill Jackson locals love to love.
The Snow King Ski Patrol is also much beloved. A large contingent of local skiers has participated in the volunteer program at one time or another. So, after several seasons of pondering volunteering, I decided it was time to make it happen, and see life from the other side.
In the past, ski patrol to me has been a source of information on conditions and local snow stability, sometimes a force to evade (tee hee), and a few times, unfortunately, they’ve been the people I dreaded yet wanted to see most, to get my broken self safely out of the mountains.
Aside from learning the tricks of maneuvering a heavy sled (I later learned not to lift the sled off the brake, but remove the brake — save biceps!), it is a little sobering to be on the other side. Sure, bamboo poles must be moved, but you also need to be prepared, all the time, to be the first responder and authority in life-threatening situations or whatever crops up.
Candidates for any volunteer ski patrol program in the United States must get several certifications: CPR, training with AEDs (defibrillators) and OEC (Outdoor Emergency Care). Together these are about 90 to 120 hours, mostly the OEC course, which is more or less EMT training in a non-urban, cold, snowy and sloped setting.
Then, you must show up at the ski hill and get checked off on a variety of tasks. They make sure you can actually ski, know the mountain, can handle a toboggan, assess injuries and handle people, and demonstrate competence in assessing medical scenarios. In going over a few scenarios, Grant Hendren, head of the volunteer patrol, informs us that in dealing with patients, confidence, communication and the ability to rapidly assess the situation are extremely important skills for a patroller. Ultimately, the job is to stabilize the patient and get them off the hill as soon as possible.
People skills are big, as a lot of ski patrol’s job is maintaining order on the hill. At Snow King, uphill hikers are a big part of the order. It is one of the first things our other instructor, Adrienne, points out to us in the morning. “Usually, first tracks are a perk of ski patrol. Not here,” she laughs. “There are so many hikers and skinners up here way before us in the morning, we never get first tracks.” We look at the hill. It is about 11 a.m., and 12 people are climbing uphill (that we can see).
We learn the three designated uphill routes, and how to nicely point them out to people on errant routes. We also learn about the ski race traditions, Snow King’s 70-year volunteer tradition, that the widely used box splint was invented here, and that patroller Kevin Johnson wrote National Ski Patrol’s book on toboggan handling (I should get my hands on that).
Adrienne, like all the patrollers here, is obviously proud of the traditions of the patrol and the uniqueness of the ski hill. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and even though this premiere training session runs over by a few hours, no one minds and it seems that despite the freezing temperatures (Snow King is a cold, cold place), everyone in our class of six candidates enjoys every minute.
When we finally wrap up day one, it is almost 5 p.m., and everyone is busy coordinating the next session. Because Snow King has night skiing until 7 p.m., we’ll be doing a lot of our training at night. And I am just guessing, but I have a feeling that a beer after this kind of time on the hill is going to taste a little different than the usual après treat — slightly less self-absorbed and congratulatory, and a little more like a team beer.
Brigid Mander is a skier, writer and artist who lives in Jackson Hole.
Nice work Brigid! Ski Patrol is a lot of work, but a lot of reward in friendship and getting a new perspective on the mountain. Just don’t rip my pass!!!
Your journey is just beginning. I’ve been doing this 25 years. I’ve never stopped training and I’ve never stopped learning.
This is a great read and a good sign that the volunteer spirit is still coming to our Mountain. I started ski patrolling at age 16 in the winter of 1966 and am thankful for the opportunity to continue to be part of well motivated, trained and competent volunteer ski patrol. Brigid’s writing is a nice touch for patrollers and a portal for others to see the enormous time and resources each volunteer patroller expends. Snow King’s rich ski patrol history is 71 years of volunteer dedication and now Brigid is part of the responsibilty to that superb tradition.