Considering volunteer patrol....school me.

[firebanex]

If you're considering doing it for just a year you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Getting your legs under you as a patroller takes longer than that.
1) you go through OEC which is basically 60 hours of book/computer work and 60 hours of hands on.
2) you are now a candidate, this means you work with other patrollers and learn the ins and outs of the mountain, you'll also be working on sled training (which is a blast) and as part of that doing some skiing seminar stuff. I don't care how good you are it's going to make you better.

As far as the time commitment, I don't know a volunteer patrol out there that won't work with you to make everything work.
Yes you'll get less touring days but the days you are there you will be skiing and as for your significant other....well have them join the patrol also...we have lots of couples and lots of multigeneration patrollers.

The medical training is great to know. I know I'll be much more comfortable now if I come across an emergency situation outside of patrolling.
The camaraderie is probably the best thing about patrolling, you meet great people from all walks in life and all of you have a common interest. I've been doing it for 4 years now and my lawyer, my doctor, and my mechanic are all patrollers.I also ski some of our other hills in the area simply by making a phone call and asking them to hook me up.

Internal view of mountain operations: Yes you meet people that work in operations but the reality is you don't usually have a lot of interaction with them. They do their thing and you do yours. If you stay in the patrol for a while then you start getting more and more involved with them.

This is the most accurate post in this thread regarding how a volunteer patroller is.

I'm the patrol director for a small patrol of about 25 members on a small but vast ski area in the interior of Alaska. The largest contributor to how much you will work as a patroller will be the volume of guests that come to your hill, we don't have a huge population and as a result we do training in the morning and lots of skiing in the afternoon, and maybe get 20-30 accidents per season.

Why do we volunteer so that a for profit ski area can make money? It primarily comes down to the love of helping people, love of what we do, and a love of skiing, if you don't have a passion for any of that of those you will despise your time as a patroller. Also the State Law in Alaska requires the presence of a NSP Ski Patroller to open for a day of operation. I personally started patrolling because I couldn't afford to purchase a season pass at 16 and my parents didn't want to buy it, but my parents would pay for my ski patrol training. Since then I've stuck with it for 16 years because I enjoy everything about it and the prodeals are pretty killer.

 

[pais alto]

Improving skiing? Doubtful. At least not in the east. If you want to do that ski instruct.

I’ll disagree there, at least for my experience in the west. The time spent skiing in snow conditions, terrain, and weather that I would normally choose not to ski, often carrying or pulling heavy things, has made me a much stronger and more capable skier. That, and the pressure of not screwing up and falling...at least where people can see you.

I guess it depends on what is meant by improved - though I don't ski like an instructor at all, I’ve ended up a much stronger skier, just not especially pretty. An instructor once told me that while he agreed I wasn’t especially inspiring to watch, I “sure get around okay” meaning I ski difficult places capably. That, for me, has been one of the greatest benefits of patrol. Really helped my billy-goat backcountry skiing.

Most of the rest of the advice here is good, and the OP’s list is legit, though I haven’t dealt with volunteer outfits. I’ll just add that, as paid patrol, I’ve gotten an amazing amount of exposure and experience in mountain operations. YMMV.

 

[James]

What's the deal with Avy training out west for volunteer patrol?

Btw, anyone read White Heat ?
The writing is in the 2nd person and near intolerable, but there's some good stuff on patrol at Park City I think. Like Dynamite Girl.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EYHY0A/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

 

[ZionPow]

What's the deal with Avy training out west for volunteer patrol?

Btw, anyone read White Heat ?
The writing is in the 2nd person and near intolerable, but there's some good stuff on patrol at Park City I think. Like Dynamite Girl.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EYHY0A/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

My experience with most western resorts is that only full time, paid patrol does avalanche control work. Therefore the resorts pays for avy training for paid patrol. Volunteers can seek avy training on their own but probably won't be able to do avy control work.

 

[Ken_R]

I'm considering a year of volunteer patrol at my home hill -- a smaller hill in the Front Range. Currently, I ski about 50-60 days per year. This year about a 50/50 break out between lift-served and backcountry.

The big question to me is am I going to regret the time commitment. Fall medical courses in the evening, then 24 days minimum over the course of the season (which thankfully is long at 6 months, so ~4 days per month.) One potential breaking point might be whether I can do some of those days on Fridays due to my work schedule. Patrolling probably means a bit less skiing with my better half and fewer days touring for sure.

Things that intrigue me about it:

- Medical training
- Camaraderie
- Internal view of mountain operations
- Helping people out
- Improving my skiing

What am I not thinking about? What do you wish you were told prior to signing up?

Ii it were me I would ask do I want to turn the Mountain from a Playground to a Work Environment... I know at times the lines can be blurred but still, if you are working, its work.

 

[mikel]

@jmeb maybe if there was an opportunity to shadow a current patroller might help in your decision? I know their OEC runs Sep thru Nov and you have to go there otherwise I would suggest the EMT-B training with South Metro. It's done in Centennial.

 

[Big J]

@jmeb maybe if there was an opportunity to shadow a current patroller might help in your decision? I know their OEC runs Sep thru Nov and you have to go there otherwise I would suggest the EMT-B training with South Metro. It's done in Centennial.

I was Pro Patrol and lived in Garmisch Germany. I remember skiing 26 days in a month. Was on a team of 20 that patrolled 5 different areas. Skied the Zugspitze in 20 below because others were trying to get frostbite in one run as some did. I patrolled the Hausberg home of two Olympics and the World Cup to include the downhill run Kandahar. I also did volunteer at Keystone. My take on patrol is that I had a good time and skied my butt off. I skied runs and places others would rarely ski because it was part of my job. I enjoy helping others so working wrecks as we would call them was rewarding for me. My time as volunteer at Keystone was after this so they had me do everything as my experience level was pretty high. When I lived in Colorado I worked many vehicle accidents up Golden Gate Canyon where I lived because I had lots of experience. My first ski wreck (I was in charge) was on the Zugspitze. It was a woman with a tib/fib fracture with the foot turned around backwards. We had to apply traction and straighten the break to apply an air splint. This was to transport the person down the Cog-wheel train having to add air to the splint

I'm considering a year of volunteer patrol at my home hill -- a smaller hill in the Front Range. Currently, I ski about 50-60 days per year. This year about a 50/50 break out between lift-served and backcountry.

The big question to me is am I going to regret the time commitment. Fall medical courses in the evening, then 24 days minimum over the course of the season (which thankfully is long at 6 months, so ~4 days per month.) One potential breaking point might be whether I can do some of those days on Fridays due to my work schedule. Patrolling probably means a bit less skiing with my better half and fewer days touring for sure.

Things that intrigue me about it:

- Medical training
- Camaraderie
- Internal view of mountain operations
- Helping people out
- Improving my skiing

What am I not thinking about? What do you wish you were told prior to signing up?

I was Pro Patrol and lived in Garmisch Germany. I remember skiing 26 days in a month. Was on a team of 20 that patrolled 5 different areas. Skied the Zugspitze in 20 below because others were trying to get frostbite in one run as some did. I patrolled the Hausberg home of two Olympics and the World Cup to include the downhill run Kandahar. I also did volunteer at Keystone. My take on patrol is that I had a good time and skied my butt off. It is a job but had much more good than bad. I skied runs and places others would rarely ski because it was part of my job. I enjoy helping others so working wrecks as we would call them was rewarding for me. My time as volunteer at Keystone was after this so they had me do everything as my experience level was pretty high. When I lived in Colorado I worked many vehicle accidents up Golden Gate Canyon where I lived because I had lots of experience. My first ski wreck (I was in charge) was on the Zugspitze. It was a woman with a tib/fib fracture with the foot turned around backwards. We had to apply traction and straighten the break to apply an air splint. This was to transport the person down the Cog-wheel train having to add air to the splint as you dropped altitude. Pretty intense for a first wreck worked. I am thankful that I was able to gain lots of real-world emergency experience. We patrolled in teams of two. I have many fond memories of this time and would not trade them for the world. Now I choose to buy seasons passes for my wife and myself as it allows me to ski or not ski as I choose. No matter what I ski I have skied a run like it with the same conditions somewhere else. Living at the area you patrol is different than commuting to it. Both serve a good purpose. Whatever you choose to do I wish you well.

 

[PisteOff]

Paging @ChunderBlunder to the customer service desk...….

 

[Carolinacub]

Paging @ChunderBlunder to the customer service desk...….

this is a good idea. lets get the take from a new patroller.

 

[Dwight]

Midwest patroller is probably a lot different than bigger mountains.

We see over 200 incidents in a season. Lots of ambulances and a few helicopters. Our small hill probably has some of the best perks too.
Family passes, pick your shifts, great group of people to ski with and patrol. Discounts on pro shop and food. Plus a great owner, GM and staff. We all work together really well. Since I switched to Wed night shift 2 years ago, I have had only 2 incidents. Which is what I want. I"m the SKi in Ski Patrol.

I have had my share of tib/fib, femurs, head trauma, shoulders etc. If one wants to be super busy, you pick the Friday night shift. That shift also has some of the best food for the night too.

PSIA does have a course, How to ski like a patroller. Not a flattering course. Skiing ability is not always our strong suite in the Midwest.

The first year is a lot of time. After that, it is what you want to invest into it.

 

[Carolinacub]

Midwest patroller is probably a lot different than bigger mountains.

We see over 200 incidents in a season. Lots of ambulances and a few helicopters. Our small hill probably has some of the best perks too.
Family passes, pick your shifts, great group of people to ski with and patrol. Discounts on pro shop and food. Plus a great owner, GM and staff. We all work together really well. Since I switched to Wed night shift 2 years ago, I have had only 2 incidents. Which is what I want. I"m the SKi in Ski Patrol.

I have had my share of tib/fib, femurs, head trauma, shoulders etc. If one wants to be super busy, you pick the Friday night shift. That shift also has some of the best food for the night too.

PSIA does have a course, How to ski like a patroller. Not a flattering course. Skiing ability is not always our strong suite in the Midwest.

The first year is a lot of time. After that, it is what you want to invest into it.

pretty much the same here in the SE other than as a volunteer we're only responsible for the weekends

 

[James]

Places that have volunteer patrol, are they during the week too? Our mt had only full time paid during the week, weekends were all volunteer except supervisors.

 

[PisteOff]

Places that have volunteer patrol, are they during the week too? Our mt had only full time paid during the week, weekends were all volunteer except supervisors.

In Michigan most every place is volunteer patrol and they're happy to have as many as want to show up on any given day. They have a schedule but that doesn't preclude you from just showing up, logging in, grabbing a radio, and getting on the hill..

 

[Dwight]

In Michigan most every place is volunteer patrol and they're happy to have as many as want to show up on any given day. They have a schedule but that doesn't preclude you from just showing up, logging in, grabbing a radio, and getting on the hill..

Midwest is what he said.

Very few places have paid patrol. Maybe a director but that is about it. I bet less than 10 hills do.

 

[jmeb]

The situation I'd be walking into is a sizeable paid patrol that is during week and weekend. Volunteer patrol supplements on weekends -- I'm hoping I can knock out some of my required days on Fridays too.

I believe there is some avy basics for all patrollers, as all (volunteer and paid) are required to wear beacons and know how to use them. However it is not in-depth as an avy level 1 which is three full days of training and has a lot about backcountry decision making that wouldn't be as applicable to most inbounds travel.

I personally have zero desire to run avy control routes. Those folks do get to ski great conditions, first tracks, on big aesthetic lines. But you've got to be dialed AF -- the risks are real.

 

[Carolinacub]

Places that have volunteer patrol, are they during the week too? Our mt had only full time paid during the week, weekends were all volunteer except supervisors.

For us it's paid during the week and volunteer on the weekend.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

.

In Michigan most every place is volunteer patrol and they're happy to have as many as want to show up on any given day. They have a schedule but that doesn't preclude you from just showing up, logging in, grabbing a radio, and getting on the hill..

All the Michigan ski areas I worked at for nearly 40 years had at least one paid patrol person on duty every day supplemented by volunteers

 

[jmeb]

Well I passed the ski test. Was much tougher than expected. So now I have to decide just about the time commitment.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Go for it. I'll bet you find it rewarding.

 

[CalG]

Midwest patroller is probably a lot different than bigger mountains.

We see over 200 incidents in a season. Lots of ambulances and a few helicopters.

In perspective

The bump I patrol (pro)
we called for 143 ambulance rides this season. my guess is 6 helio transports.

One more day to go!