by Grant Fullman, Division Director | Apr 26, 2026 | Division News
Spring arrived in the Adirondacks suddenly. Yesterday I was starting to swat bugs, and it’s snowing today. We are done skiing, except for a few diehards on skins in the high peaks. By most measures, this was an awesome ski season―great snowmaking weather, a good amount of natural snow, and relatively few rain or warm weather events until very late in the season.
Most of our friends out West were nowhere near as fortunate. In the absence of an NSP Powderfall event, Central Division sponsored “Last Tracks” at Park City, Utah in late March and low attendance, largely due to lack of snow, cost them dearly.
Eastern Division had many noteworthy events that we should all be proud of; here are just a few, and I apologize for any left off this list:
• Multiple Patroller Schools across the whole Division,
• A first of a kind Eastern and Southern Division “joint venture” Patroller School at Canaan Valley and Timberline,
• Division Avalanche, MTR, and Nordic/Backcountry events in five different Regions,
• The YAP Summit at Smugglers’ Notch,
• Alumni celebration at Stratton, and
• The Certified exam at Sugarloaf―all in March.
And there were two MTR-1 courses delivered to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, customized to address unique Army requirements. Thank you and congratulations to everyone who made these possible!
Eastern Division’s 2025 National Board election turnout was more than double the previous year’s, and Eastern Division accounted for about 45% of all votes actually cast. All four candidates recommended by the Division won seats, which was also the case in the previous year. This is proof of what can be accomplished with a concerted effort.
The 2026 National Board election will have five seats to fill. The filing deadline is June 1, so if you’re interested or know someone who is (or should be), please don’t delay. Attending National Board or National program committee meetings by Zoom is a great way to learn more. You can find the schedule and login information on the National website.
And, speaking of the National Board, as of January the Eastern Division received the benefit of having two former Board members join our team. Paul Kelly is now Chair of the Eastern Division Finance Committee and Bob Scarlett has joined us as Assistant Division Legal Advisor. Welcome to the team, and many thanks for agreeing to share your time, talents, and wealth of experience with us!
The annual Eastern Division Spring Officers’ Meeting will be in Albany, New York starting May 1. Lots of excitement as we gather to recap the past year’s challenges and accomplishments, and set course for the coming year. Many thanks to everyone who makes what we do possible. We do amazing things when tireless individual dedication combines with awesome teamwork!
Enjoy every day!
by Tim Franz, Bike Supervisor | Apr 26, 2026 | Division News, Program News
The Eastern Division Bike Program is announcing two different bike patroller schools! Any NSP member is welcome, regardless of whether you’re on a bike patrol. This includes hosts, patrollers, Nordic patrollers, and physician partners. You do NOT have to be a bike patroller, just have an interest in learning.
The first patroller school is hosted by GROC Mountain Bike Patrol in the Genesee Valley Region. It will be at two parks that have cross-country trails designed by and for mountain bikers.
- Dates: Friday June 12 to Sunday June 14
- Location: Ontario County Park and Hickory Ridge (some accessible trails) in the Finger Lakes
- Highlights of the June Patroller School: Bike 1 training, Introduction to Bike Patrolling, One-wheeled Litter training, Search & Rescue/OEC training, and of course riding & socializing.
The second patroller school is hosted by HoliMont Bike Patrol in the Western New York Region. Like last year, it will be held at HoliMont Bike Park.
Dates: Friday September 11 to Sunday September 13- Location: HoliMont Bike Park
- Highlights of the September Patroller School: Bike 1 training, Instructor training, One-wheeled Litter training, Downhill Riding Skills, First Response
at a Bike Park, and of course riding & socializing.
Watch patrollerschool.org for more information on both these events or reach out to Tim Franz or John Wolf at bike@easterndivisionnsp.org.
by Trail Sweep Staff | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News, Spotlight Articles
Rich Pietrafesa, Board Member
No matter how you look at it, the 2026 Eastern Patroller and Alumni Event was an outstanding success. There were over 100 people signed up to participate, more than double last year’s event. The evening events with NSP Board members Rich Pietrafesa and Butch MacQueen, the NSP Safety Team, and the history of the 10th Mountain Division were well attended and very informative.
Butch MacQueen, Board Member & John Crandall, former SVT Alumni Advisor
Stratton Mountain did a great job welcoming us. The daily events included touring the snowmaking operations, the Carlos Otis Clinic and First Aid Center, and the Patrol Summit HQ. These provided us insight into some unique attributes of the daily routine of different departments at Stratton. Matt Jones, CEO of Stratton, even came and talked about the resort, the ski industry, and answered questions from us all.
Melanie Musczynski, EDIV Safety Team & Oliver Loewen, Stratton Patrol
Special thanks to Stratton Patrollers Larry Kneip, Steve Sabastian, Ned O’Rourke, Bill Vosmer, and Oliver Loewen for spending the better part of the week guiding us on the mountain and providing great conversations. Having our own guides really made for great days on the snow.
There were patrollers and Alums from all 15 Regions of the Eastern Division and from the PRO ranks as well. Folks from Maine to West Virginia, Buffalo to New Jersey were present. Good times, good food, and great fellowship were had by all. Oh, and some pretty fine skiing too. Hope to see you all next year!
Written by The Alumni Advisors of the Eastern Division
by Trail Sweep Staff | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News
ELK MOUNTAIN
Again, this year, the One-Day Women’s Toboggan Event at Elk Mountain on Friday, January 23, was a huge success! The collaboration between the Eastern Division Women’s Program and the EPA Region hosted 21 participants and five instructors. The day was filled with supportive coaching, training on toboggans and skills, while sharing laughs, lunch, and allowing everyone to work within their comfort levels. Women teaching and empowering other women is always a win! Please be on the lookout for more women’s programming next ski season.
Chrissy Ludka, Eastern Division Women’s Program Supervisor
Kurt Adam, EPA Region Director
GORE MOUNTAIN
Twenty women and several instructors from Eastern New York and beyond took to the glades, steeps and bumps on Friday, February 27 as part of Gore Mountain Women’s OET Clinic.
The clinic marked a major growth milestone for the ENY Women’s Program, with double the number of attendees as previous events in the region. It also marked the first year a women’s OET clinic was held the Friday before Gore Mountain Patroller School, giving many participants a three-day OET enhancement experience.
Here’s what participants had to say:
- What an incredible day! I gained so much confidence and takeaways to keep practicing.
- Very empowering and motivating!
- I really appreciated all of the support and cheerleading that my group provided to me. I ended up feeling almost selfish about how much I was helped. My Senior clinic the next day went well ALL BECAUSE of the skills I was shown and coached through on Friday.
Follow Eastern Division Women’s Program at @nspeastwomen on both Instagram and Facebook for next year’s clinic dates!
Amy Reinink, ENY Women’s Program Advisor
BRISTOL MOUNTAIN
We held an amazing women’s empowerment clinic at Bristol Mountain on Saturday, March 7. This also happened to be international women’s weekend. We hosted 24 amazing women from seven different patrols. Our ladies ran sleds, worked with PSIA and AASI 
instructors, and stretched out with some ” Snow-ga” (yoga in snow). We finished the day with an amazing charcuterie munch and mingle. Our amazing women patrollers felt empowered to be the best they could be!
Pam Welch, GVR Women’s Program Coordinator
by Sue-Ellen Helmacy, Awards Supervisor | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News, Spotlight Articles
Eastern Division has a New Award! The Red Merit Star fills a unique and necessary recognition gap—honoring patrollers whose instinct, training, and intervention made a profound difference, even when the patient may not show or present with immediate life-threatening signs.
Unlike the NSP Purple Merit Star, which recognizes life-saving interventions, the Red Merit Star acknowledges situations where timely and skilled action, including load and go, which may have prevented a potentially catastrophic outcome, but where the injury or illness may not have initially presented as immediately life-threatening.
The Red Merit Star recognizes NSP patrollers who demonstrate exceptional emergency care, critical decision-making, and compassion in situations where their intervention was instrumental in preventing a significant negative outcome, or death.
Patrollers may be recognized for incidents in which they worked up to two years back. The process is similar to that of other Eastern Division awards. Further information and the application will be on the webpage shortly.
by Chuck Boyd, Nordic/Backcountry Supervisor | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News
What a time we had at Pike Glades! The weather was perfect, the snow was deep, and everyone made new friends! Thanks to Orest Ohar and Linda Helms from the Eastern Division’s OET Training Team, we received training in the use of two types of breakaway two-piece toboggans.
One was a two-piece Cascade 100 with belay points and handles typical to the Cascade Legend. The other was a carbon fiber, four-handle AKJA two-piece toboggan. A big thank you to Jay Peak’s ski patrol for letting us use the AKJA! We all learned a lot about running these sleds through the glades.
Our SAR exercise using Caltopo teams had all searchers recovering their hidden prizes. Look for this event again next season, especially if your ski area deals with lost area skiers out of bounds.
If you ever wanted to learn about what Nordic/Backcountry patrollers do, come next year to our annual Bolton Nordic Patroller School at Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Bolton, VT. Bolton Valley has all types of Nordic terrain including XC track/skate, backcountry, and lift served alpine. We will be doing Nordic basic evaluations, Nordic Senior evaluations, SAR lost skier searches, and skiing with a Skedco rescue litter through the woods. As a patroller, learning to use Caltopo in a SAR situation is extremely useful for a successful outcome. Groups will be skiing on all types of Nordic skis, with some riders on AT gear and split boards.
by Rob West, Avalanche Supervisor | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News
The Avalanche teaching season has come to an end for the Eastern Division. This year we successfully ran two Level 1 classes and one Level 2 class. A total of 44 students completed their Level 1 training, and 12 students completed Level 2.
We had an amazing group of patrollers participate in the programs this year. Everyone was fully engaged in their learning and went above and beyond to complete both their online and in-person coursework.
We also had two new Level 1 avalanche instructors complete their mentorships. Congratulations to Jeff and Val Luby for their hard work and dedication to the program!
Looking ahead to next season, we plan to run three Level 1 classes and one Level 2 class.
In the meantime, remember to continue your training and education during the off-season. This fall you can attend the AMN Refresher (date and location TBD), as well as the Eastern Snow and Avalanche Workshop in Fryeburg, ME in early December.
While most resorts will be closing soon, there is still plenty of backcountry skiing to enjoy. Tuckerman Ravine typically holds enough snow for skiing well into May. This is my home patrol area, so feel free to reach out for current conditions.
Also be sure to follow the Mount Washington Avalanche Center daily avalanche bulletin. Please feel free to reach out anytime if you have questions about the Avalanche Program.
Linda Helms, the Certified Program Avalanche Chair, sent a couple of cool videos from YouTube. Yes, they are regarding avalanches.
The first is from Tuckerman Ravine on 3/15/26. I was patrolling that day and we heard about this slide, and even spoke to the person involved. He said it was about a 6″ crown and comprised of the new snow on the old bed surface which had seen some rain and re-freeze. Someone caught it on video. Pretty cool. Lots of drama. Tuckerman Ravine Avalanche
This next video is of a recent wet slide in the La Sal Mountains of Utah. The La Sals are south and east of the Wasatch so have a more similar snow pack to Colorado (continental vs inter-mountain). La Sal Moutains Avalanche
Also of interest is a recent podcast about an avalanche accident in the La Sal mountains that occurred in 1992. Avalanche Podcast
I have not had the chance to look into further developments of the Sierra Avalanche fatalities from February. I will update when I have the chance. Enjoy the weather, and keep hoping for snow.
by Teigh Southworth, OET Steering Committee | Apr 2, 2026 | Division News, Program News, Spotlight Articles
In the past you may have received emails about renewing your Toboggan Instructor status for the Pro Division. It is important to note there are some differences for Pro Division OET instructors to stay up to date. Here is the scoop.
First, you need to understand how the National Ski Patrol is organized. There are nine Geographic Divisions where predominantly volunteers are registered, and the Professional Division where most of the paid patrollers are registered. Each Division is broken down into regions. The regions in the Professional Division have the same boundaries as each of the Geographic Divisions. Here in the Northeast, we are either members of the Eastern Division, or the Eastern Region of the Professional Division.
The Professional Division does not host its own events, neither does the Eastern Division. All OET events are open to all patrollers regardless of registration. Events may be staffed by instructors from either or both divisions. In fact, Eastern and Pro Division members work together from the OET Steering Committee down to plan and develop OET programs that welcome all who attend.
If you are registered in the Eastern Division, you work with your OET Region Advisor to maintain your instructor status. However, if you are registered in the Professional Division, not only do you have to work with your Region Advisor to maintain your instructor status, but you also have to meet the requirements set by the Professional Division, hence the second set of requirements sent by the Professional Division OET Supervisor, the position currently held by Ray Bryan. Ray typically sends out an email mid-March so that he can get the reappointments submitted to the National office by April 30.
If you are an OET Instructor Trainer, a similar set of circumstances will occur, your Region Advisor will be letting you know what is needed to continue as an Instructor Trainer, but you will also receive an email from Ray with the requirements for maintaining your Instructor Trainer Status with the Professional Division.
Hopefully this helps clear up any confusion for members registered in the Professional Division as to why you have two separate sets of requirements for maintaining your Toboggan Instructor or Instructor Trainer status.
On a closing note, the position of Senior Trainer/Evaluator (TE) is an Eastern Division designation only, it does not exist at the national level, and therefore you won’t be getting a second email about how to maintain that status. Contact your OET RA, Matt Nebzydoski, Eastern Division OET Supervisor or Ray Bryan, Pro Division OET Supervisor if you have any questions.
by Chuck Boyd, Nordic/Backcountry Supervisor | Feb 24, 2026 | Division News, Program News
Highland Forest in fresh snow.
Are you ready to be signed off as a Nordic senior or would you still like additional training with the division staff? If so, come join us at Bolton Valley, VT on the weekend of March 21-22, 2026. Bolton Valley has some of the most diversified terrain in the division. It allows us to evaluate XC skiing, backcountry skiing, and alpine touring.
If you are looking to complete your Nordic/Backcountry basic or senior, or train for Nordic Master, come out and join us. Registration is on patrollerschool.org or contact the Nordic/BC Program Supervisor Chuck Boyd.
Registration is still open for the Pike Glades event, but it is filling up. We currently have two slots left. This backcountry event is a must for all uphill skiers, whether you are on telemark skis, alpine touring skis, or a split board. Besides learning uphill technique, we will ski the glades, run toboggans in the glades, and focus on lost area skier SAR techniques for those patrollers who have to go look for riders who duck the ropes and head out of bounds at your area.
Nordic Senior evaluation L-R Tyler Lewis, Jennifer Jones, & Sten Winborg
Sten Winborg teaching classic Nordic skiing
Nordic Fest was a blast and a bit chilly, but everyone braved the cold and learned new skills. Our PSIA instructors did a fantastic job of teaching both skate and classic lessons as the program strives to make better skiers of our Nordic patrollers. Sunday, we conducted both Nordic basic and senior evaluations. This has become an annual event, and I’ll let a few pictures tell the rest of the story.
