As 50,000 winter sports enthusiasts stepped into the Boston Convention Center this weekend they were eagerly greeted by top ski and snowboard brands, big winter sports personalities, representatives from ski areas around the globe, and most importantly, the National Ski Patrol’s Eastern Division. This year our booth was strategically located near the indoor ski hill and adjacent to the main stage where celebs including Catie Zeliff, Dan Egan, Hannay Kearney, and even Donny Pelletier, Maine’s Finest Athlete, entertained the crowds. Over the three days “America’s Coolest First Responders” handed out hundreds of fun items and met face-to-face with snow fans young and old. We also had a fun engaging video playing all day this year with added features on patrolling at Pat’s Peak, Saddleback, and the future patrollers at Sunday River’s Gould Academy.
30 volunteer patrollers in our 20×20 display booth with bright, colorful images and messaging met thousands of people from the East Coast and far beyond, making a positive, memorable, first-hand impression that cannot be bought. People interested in learning more left us their contact information so we can reach out after the show. A rough estimate puts us at a fourfold increase over last year in people signing up for more information on patrolling. That is great news and aligns nicely with the National Ski Patrol’s prime objective.
Every year Snowbound Expo is a powerful opportunity for the Eastern Division to connect with skiers and snowboarders of all ages positively, letting them know what Ski Patrol is all about. The attendance numbers keep growing and the show keeps getting bigger, clear signs that winter sports are strong and healthy.
A huge THANK YOU to all the patrollers from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and of course Massachusetts who helped us this weekend. You made an epic first impression that will pay us all back. Thanks to Nick Rasher and his team at Blue Hills for building, transporting, setting up, and dismantling the booth. Also, a special shout out to Frey Aarnio, Dallas Coffman, and Kathy Fitzpatrick for donating the fun swag. Everything came together in an epic NSP Eastern Division team effort that every patroller can take pride in.
OET has been working hard all summer to prepare for the upcoming season. This winter we will introduce new initiatives including the first version of the Toboggan Fundamentals, updating some components of the Senior OET assess⇒ment, new online Moodle School course offerings, and version 2.0 of the OET TE Handbook. This December, OET Staff will meet with Regional and National ski and toboggan leadership at Killington for our annual training. The updates will be communicated through patroller schools and regional clinics.
What are the Toboggan Fundamentals? The Toboggan Fundamentals are launching this season across the divisions and include four statements that we believe are present at all levels of toboggan handling and tail rope work from candidates to certified patrollers. They capture the safety, technical skills, route selection, and communication necessary for safe patient transport.
Toboggan Fundamentals
→ Employ sound judgment to ensure the safety of the toboggan handlers, passengers, and the public.
→Use a blend of technical fundamentals and chain/rope management to control the speed and direction of the toboggan.
→Use route selection and other tactical skills to optimize the toboggan path to safely arrive at a scene or transport a patient.
→Employ appropriate communication between toboggan handlers, passengers, and the public.
OET Moodle School Course Offerings
New OET courses for this season will include a course titled Building Great Instructors focused on the integration of the PSIA-AASIA Learning Connection Model into our training. The introduction focuses on how great instructors blend excellent technical skills with a strong knowledge of teaching and people skills to connect with learners. Expect to hear more about this theme as the season progresses. We have also updated our instructor, TE, and IT prep courses. OET recommends that any patroller interested in progressing in their skills check them out, and especially encourage aspiring toboggan instructors and TEs to take advantage of the wealth of information contained in each course module.
Senior Program Updates
The Senior OET Assessment will be updated this year to include some new elements and increase the relevance of testing components. OET Skills will be combined into one run rather than artificially isolating the skills. Candidates will demonstrate the skills needed for the terrain they are navigating and incorporate the skills into their toboggan and tail rope work. A loaded toboggan traverse will also be included that will have driver and tail rope candidates demonstrate the ability to work together as a team to traverse around an obstacle. In a practical sense, the traverse will simulate getting around a rock, tower, bare patch, or other obstacle while safely transporting an injured patient. The goal is to make the assessment more relevant and advance the skills required in senior terrain. More information and senior training opportunities will be available at patroller schools and regional OET clinics throughout the season. Reach out to your local TEs and Regional Leadership to learn more and get involved.
Happy fall almost winter fellow patrollers. As the Chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program, I am pleased to report that we remain active in developing the division’s program for the 2024/2025 ski season. Your team of certified patrollers participates in every aspect of NSP from active year-round patrolling to being on our National Board. It is hard to account for the manhours that go into running the NSP and its programs.
One might question the sanity of it all. In the end, our job is to assist our employers and ski areas to provide a safe and fun experience for all their guests and to make the work environment safe for our fellow employees. The behind-the-scenes work does not start and stop with the snow!
As of this writing, we have wrapped up both our 12th annual Certified Boot Camp and Enhanced Patroller School. This year’s Boot Camp was held August 16-18 at Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun Park in Monticello, NY. The resort was recently purchased by a fellow patroller who graciously hosted us for the weekend. Check out this up-and-coming resort in the Southern Catskills, 85 miles North of NYC.
Given that we were hosted by a ski resort, we had access to a host of real-life activities that go into the summer months of a resort. Ongoing revenue-generating activities, chairlift maintenance, snowmaking equipment upgrades, and trail clearing to name a few. This gave way to much discussion about Outdoor Risk Management and the preseason thought that needs to go into making our resorts safer before the snow flies.
Taking advantage of being at an active resort, we focused Saturday on lift evacuation planning and different scenarios that may present themselves. Of great interest to our resorts is addressing the situation of an unseated guest. There are lots of scenarios that may present themselves to the mountain with unseated guests. Things we discovered included:
What are the conditions?
Where does it occur along the chairlift – bottom, top, middle?
Stop the chair or keep it running?
Tools available to rescuers – nets, bean bags, ladders, ropes, blankets, tarps?
Why is the person unseated?
What is the age and physical condition of the person?
What is mountain protocol and how is it coordinated and/or communicated between different departments?
Overall situational awareness?
What are best practices and how long do you have to react?
These are only the tip of the iceberg. We decided to recreate an unseated passenger scenario. We had an 8-year-old, 12-year-old, and 50-year-old hang from the chair with their hands. All wore gloves, did not have ski gear or ski equipment on (therefore holding much less weight), and were hanging on the metal edge of the chairlift, not the seat. Therefore, they could grip a 3” piece of metal tubing.
How long can they hang on detailing how much time any rescuer has to react? After three different attempts, each child could hang on for just over 3 minutes; the adult, just under 2 minutes. This was in a controlled environment. They were supported by ropes with a net, no ski gear, and an 80-degree sunny day.
The conclusion is that the resort departments need to have a communication and rescue plan in place before anything like this happens with some guidelines for lift operators, patrol, and ski school (other departments as well) on how quickly those 2-3 minutes will go and what you should do about it given a variety of scenarios.
We hope you take this information back to your resort, discuss what to do if you have an unseated passenger, and ensure that the plan is communicated to all departments!
There are less than two weeks left to vote in the National Board of Director election. Currently, 13 candidates are running to fill four open seats.
You are encouraged to read the platforms of all of the candidates at www.nsp.orgon the Access Your Ballot page and participate in the election. There have been three forums to meet the candidates and ask questions. If you missed them, they are available to watch on the NSP website.
If you have not yet voted, please go to www.nsp.org, sign in, and click the Access Your Ballot button to see the candidate platforms and the election ballot. The election closes on December 1.
Amendment Proposal: In addition, there is a ballot proposal to amend the NSP bylaws to grant full voting rights and traditional membership to NSP Mountain Hosts. This will be a “Yes” or “No” vote.
Please participate in the NSP BOD election. If you have any questions, please ask your Patrol Representative or Region Director. Thank you for participating in the governance of the National Ski Patrol.
The 2024 National Board Elections begins on October 15. This year, 14 candidates are running to fill four open seats.
You are encouraged to read the platforms of all of the candidates on the 2024 NSP Board Election page. You must sign in to your account to access the election information. There have been several forums via Zoom to talk to the candidates and ask questions. If you missed the first two, videos of the forums are available to watch at the same link. The last candidate forum will take place on Wednesday, October 16 at 8pm Eastern time.
You will receive notification via email when voting begins on Tuesday, October 15. Please make sure your email address is current in your NSP profile before October 15. If you do not receive a ballot on October 15, check your spam folder, or go to www.nsp.org, sign in, and click the ACCESS YOUR BALLOT button to see the candidate platforms and the election ballot. The election closes on December 1.
Amendment Proposal: In addition, on the bottom of the same page, there is a ballot proposal to amend the NSP bylaws to grant full voting rights and traditional membership to NSP Mountain Hosts. This will be a “Yes” or “No” vote.
If you have any questions, please ask your patrol representative or region director. Thank you for participating in the governance of the National Ski Patrol.
Hi, I’m Chuck Boyd, the new Eastern Division Nordic/Backcountry Program Supervisor. I’ve been patrolling for a long time and just received my 30-year service award. Many of you may know me already as the Avalanche Program Supervisor, a Mountain Travel and Rescue (MTR) Instructor Trainer (IT), and Nordic Master 005.
I have a passion for these programs along with my love of the outdoors and climbing. I have helped many patrollers achieve their goals within all the NSP programs that I teach. I find it a very rewarding experience which has created many lasting friendships.
Nordic/BC is an interesting program. It includes all types of Nordic skiing as well as all types of terrain. We like to consider it as everything on the other side of a boundary rope. With this comes the challenge of meeting all these different types of patrollers’ needs.
We have Nordic resorts with set track and skate skiing, State and Federal forests and parks with rolling ungroomed terrain, and National Parks and Forests with huge mountainous terrain. These different terrains require a large skill set. To master them all and become a Nordic Master is a huge lifetime achievement.
With this said, we need training in all these different styles and techniques. My plan is to offer three division-wide events featuring Nordic skills enhancement, Nordic Senior training, and Nordic Master training at each session. There will be one each in January, February, and March with the final event containing a Nordic senior evaluation. I am looking for areas to help host these events.
Currently I’m working with Highland Forest in the CNY Region to host the first event in January. February and March are TBD. Please contact me if you would like to host one of these events. Besides good skiing, we will need lodging and food options for the group. For more information about Nordic and Backcountry programs, visit the Nordic Program page of the Eastern Division Website.
I’m excited about building on the strength of this program, creating more Nordic Seniors, and working with people who want to become Nordic Masters. Look forward to seeing you all on the snow.
In late September, the Thunder Mountain Bike Patrol hosted the first annual Eastern Division Bike Program Weekend. It was an exciting two days of downhill riding, getting to know other bike patrollers, and learning, including taking the NSP Bike 1 training class.
The weekend opened on Saturday morning with optional non-NSP activities. Thunder Mountain offered participants some great discounts. We, of course, took full advantage of these opportunities by spending the day on the mountain. There was even an NSP-specific lesson where I learned how to ride a sweet jump line (pretty good for a 60-yr old, long-time XC rider!). We met up with other NSP members, assisted the patrol with sweep, and then ended the day with an Eastern Division bike program meeting with the regional advisors who were able to attend.
As you might expect after a great day of riding, the meeting quickly progressed into social time at Thunder Mountain’s Crazy Horse Bar & Grill. Participants and non-participants alike arrived and joined in on the conversation. Some attendees camped out that night and two of us glamped at Patrol Hilltop. More participants arrived on Sunday morning in time for that day’s NSP education programming.
Sunday started with a morning session covering the five modules of the Bike 1 Skills Session. I taught Module 1 which demonstrates the ABCDE-Quick Check and helmet fitting. Kevin Brody of Thunder Mountain taught Module 2 which is about knowing your bike, tools for trailside repair, liability issues, and discussing how e-bikes fit into the bike community. Marc Burdick, the Thunder Mountain PD, taught Module 3 which includes lifting, carrying, and transporting bike patients. Dave Voelxen of GROC Mountain Bike Patrol taught Module 4 giving us an intro to the various different types of patrols and land managers as well as providing a refresher about conducting a scene size up.
Finally, Jason Tamulen of Thunder Mountain led a session about Module 5 where we discussed adaptive cyclists and working with those with diverse abilities. Kevin, a former pro rider and bike mechanic, incorporated a bike maintenance clinic into his session and Marc added a clinic about how to use a one-wheeled litter into Module 3. This clinic was absolutely necessary before we took our afternoon session.
After lunch we rode again! Then, thanks to the incredible support of the entire Thunder Mountain Bike Patrol, we ran two complete scenarios from start to finish which were timed by patrol dispatch. Special thanks go to Jason, Marc, and Kevin who created our afternoon session complete with moulage. Our clock started ticking when Hilltop received a phone call from an injured person on a trail. Dispatch radioed to the bike patrol, and we sent two people to ride to and then size up the scene. The two leads completed their initial assessment and then made their radio call for support. Dispatch released the rest of us and we rode the trail to the scene. They also dispatched two of the patrol’s UTVs (utility terrain vehicle) which could only get close to the scene when using the nearest access road.
The team immediately split, some working on patient care and stabilization while others working to get the necessary equipment from the UTV. We then transported the stabilized patent to the UTV using some tools we learned about that morning, including the one-wheeled litter and vacuum mattress. Both of these were new to everyone outside of TMBP. Finally, we loaded the patient on the UTV. One team member rode in the back to keep the patient stabilized. The rest of us took care of the scene, sent the bikes and helmets down with the other UTV, and rode down to meet the UTV at base first aid. We removed the patient and brought them into the medical center, which is when the dispatcher stopped the clock. The times showed that the team clearly improved when using the one-wheeled litter after the second scenario, which was a much more difficult one.
Overall, it was an exciting weekend filled with excellent learning opportunities mixed with making new friends and spending lots of time on the bike. There will definitely be a second annual Eastern Division Bike Program Weekend next summer, so watch the Eastern Division website and Trail Sweep for information about it.
As patrollers, we know situations can change very quickly. Our training prepares us to act and resolve the challenges presented to us. When we become patrollers, we do not spend time thinking that circumstances may interrupt our patrolling commitment. The reality is there are a bunch of circumstances that can cause us to consider interrupting patrolling or leaving it altogether. If this happens to you or another patroller you know, we are your parachute. We are the Alumni Program.
Call us, your Patrol and Region Alumni Advisors, and learn how to stay connected to patrolling or return to patrolling when appropriate. Visit the Alumni page on the Eastern Division website. Or, if you’re not sure who to call…call me, Allan Miller, Division Alumni Advisor, 518-441-3899.
Outdoor Emergency Transportation (OET) is the official NSP-branded name for rescue toboggan training education. All alpine patrollers are required to take annual refreshers at their mountain to maintain their status. Local mountain OET Toboggan Instructors run refreshers and train incoming patroller candidates. Since 1996, NSP has created an educational program structure that develops a training curriculum, assigns highly skilled and experienced instructor trainers (ITs) to recertify instructors, mentors incoming instructors, and manages the quality assurance documents for maintaining continuing education and certifications.
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A staff of 37 instructor trainers across the Eastern Division work closely with the 15 Regional OET Advisors, maintaining the OET program’s quality with in-service training, continuing education courses, feedback, and observations. Each advisor maintains their own OET Staff of trainer-evaluators (TEs) to serve and advise the local mountain toboggan instructors helping them with the latest educational techniques and methods.
The OET Program is committed to continuous education, maintaining educational courses on Eastern Division’s Online Moodle School (a Learning Management System maintained for delivering continuing education for instructors) to provide access to the most up-to-date teaching methods.
Over the decades, the division’s OET Staff has maintained a long tradition of providing instructor training to improve the quality of on-snow education and unify it between the regions. The evolution began in 1997 with the introduction of formalized instructor mentoring. In 2003, OET Teaching Methods were introduced to give instructors tools for teaching on the snow. Using the Instructor Development textbook, a training program was developed emphasizing 6-Pack Lesson Planning, “positive immediate student feedback,” and most importantly, ADAPT.
ADAPT is a cyclical teaching tool that instructors use to improve student learning activities and monitor teaching effectiveness. It allows instructors to customize learning to the needs of each student, with the mission of building skills and then progressing learning by adding additional skills. Its goal has always been to offer instructors a path for taking candidates from day-one learning all the way up to passing their senior level at the student’s pace.
In 2017 NSP’s OET Director adopted the Technical Fundamentals of Skiing as the instructional language for on-snow teaching. The Professional Ski Instructors Association and the American Association of Snowboard Instructors (PSIA-AASI) created the fundamentals covering skiing, telemarking, and snowboarding. These technical fundamentals bring teaching concepts to life with practical applications adapted to the student’s ability level or desired outcome. OET Instructors have been using the language of the fundamentals as a tool to provide consistent, accurate, and concise feedback.
Building upon past changes to further improve teaching effectiveness, the OET Program is once again evolving instructor education and its teaching methods. Beginning in 2025, OET Instructors will be learning how to refine cyclical ADAPT-based teaching to include a closer student collaboration using meaningful two-way communication. Instructors will learn how to incorporate listening as students reflect on sensations, feelings of movements, and outcomes – both good and bad. The new on-snow teaching methods are designed to add more effective tools for instructors to create progress in student skill development.
OET teaching evolutions often take several years to roll out across the division. This one is being introduced nationally with a series of Toboggan Technical Fundamentals. Watch the next issue of Ski Patrol Magazine for more about the OET Educational Program. Also, watch for the next issue of Trail Sweep to learn how instructors and students benefit as the program rolls out improved on-snow teaching tools.
This year our booth was strategically located near the indoor ski hill and adjacent to the main stage where celebs including Catie Zeliff, Dan Egan, Hannay Kearney, and even Donny Pelletier, Maine’s Finest Athlete, entertained the crowds. Over the three days “America’s Coolest First Responders” handed out hundreds of fun items and met face-to-face with snow fans young and old. We also had a fun engaging video playing all day this year with added features on patrolling at Pat’s Peak, Saddleback, and the future patrollers at Sunday River’s Gould Academy.
Happy fall almost winter fellow patrollers. As the Chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program, I am pleased to report that we remain active in developing the division’s program for the 2024/2025 ski season. Your team of certified patrollers participates in every aspect of NSP from active year-round patrolling to being on our National Board. It is hard to account for the manhours that go into running the NSP and its programs.
There are less than two weeks left to vote in the National Board of Director election. Currently, 13 candidates are running to fill four open seats.
Hi, I’m Chuck Boyd, the new Eastern Division 
With this said, we need training in all these different styles and techniques. My plan is to offer three division-wide events featuring Nordic skills enhancement, Nordic Senior training, and Nordic Master training at each session. There will be one each in January, February, and March with the final event containing a Nordic senior evaluation. I am looking for areas to help host these events.
In late September, the Thunder Mountain Bike Patrol hosted the first annual Eastern Division Bike Program Weekend. It was an exciting two days of downhill riding, getting to know other bike patrollers, and learning, including taking the NSP Bike 1 training class.
Finally, Jason Tamulen of Thunder Mountain led a session about Module 5 where we discussed adaptive cyclists and working with those with diverse abilities. Kevin, a former pro rider and bike mechanic, incorporated a bike maintenance clinic into his session and Marc added a clinic about how to use a one-wheeled litter into Module 3. This clinic was absolutely necessary before we took our afternoon session.
The team immediately split, some working on patient care and stabilization while others working to get the necessary equipment from the UTV. We then transported the stabilized patent to the UTV using some tools we learned about that morning, including the one-wheeled litter and vacuum mattress. Both of these were new to everyone outside of TMBP. Finally, we loaded the patient on the UTV. One team member rode in the back to keep the patient stabilized. The rest of us took care of the scene, sent the bikes and helmets down with the other UTV, and rode down to meet the UTV at base first aid. We removed the patient and brought them into the medical center, which is when the dispatcher stopped the clock. The times showed that the team clearly improved when using the one-wheeled litter after the second scenario, which was a much more difficult one.
As patrollers, we know situations can change very quickly. Our training prepares us to act and resolve the challenges presented to us. When we become patrollers, we do not spend time thinking that circumstances may interrupt our patrolling commitment. The reality is there are a bunch of circumstances that can cause us to consider interrupting patrolling or leaving it altogether. If this happens to you or another patroller you know, we are your parachute. We are the Alumni Program.
Outdoor Emergency Transportation (OET) is the official NSP-branded name for rescue toboggan training education. All alpine patrollers are required to take annual refreshers at their mountain to maintain their status. Local mountain OET Toboggan Instructors run refreshers and train incoming patroller candidates. Since 1996, NSP has created an educational program structure that develops a training curriculum, assigns highly skilled and experienced instructor trainers (ITs) to recertify instructors, mentors incoming instructors, and manages the quality assurance documents for maintaining continuing education and certifications.
