As patrollers, we train physically and mentally to be ready to go when the snow finally flies. How many of us train to be ready emotionally for the possible stress injuries resulting from the bad scenes we may encounter?
During my 30-year career as a ski patroller, I always had a pre-season skiing-specific training program to prepare physically for the demands of patrolling. Annual OEC refreshers provided an opportunity to mentally revive the knowledge and skills necessary to care for injured skiers.
It wasn’t until late in my career that I began to pay attention to training for the emotional resilience needed to effectively confront potentially traumatizing events. Now I make it a point to regularly engage in what the All Clear Foundation calls “resilience workouts” as a way to be ready for life’s daily challenges and those high-stress rescues encountered on the hill.
My workout includes three evidence-based, effective “exercises” or activities—breathwork, time in nature, and mindfulness. These activities stimulate the vagus nerve, a critical part of the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for regulating heart rate, mood, and inflammation response. The vagus nerve calms the survival response and is the key to unlocking the relaxation response.
BREATHWORK One of the best ways to activate the vagus nerve is slow, deep breathing. Attention to breathing shifts your focus away from stressful mind chatter and toward the rhythm of the breath itself.
Try BOX BREATHING, known as the “Navy Seal” breathing technique. It can be used to relax during a busy day or as an in-the-moment coping tactic to control the stress response. To go in-depth on the topic, read Breath by James Nestor.
I recommend a daily five-minute session of 4-2-6 paced breathing. Inhale through the nose to the belly for four seconds, hold for two seconds, and then exhale through the mouth for six seconds. Remember, whatever technique you choose it needs to be practiced regularly for you to be able to deploy it when it’s needed.
TIME IN NATURE Did you know that when walking in the forest you breathe in phytoncides—oils released by the trees? These oils can lower levels of the primary stress hormone, cortisol. That’s why you feel calm and less anxious when walking in a forest.
Almost any serene and visually pleasing environment can enhance mood and trigger positive emotions and a sense of tranquility. I’ve been thinking about taking up fly fishing.
MINDFULNESS As responders, we tend to move through our days picking up rocks and putting them in our pack. Mindfulness practices are a way to put down the things we don’t need to be carrying. That’s why I integrated mindfulness practice into my daily routine.
A recent study found that 10-minute daily mindfulness sessions using the Medito: Meditation & Wellness app improved mental health and encouraged healthier lifestyle behaviors, with lasting effects on well-being and habits like exercise and sleep:
• Reducing depression by 19.2% more than the control group.
• Improving well-being by 6.9% more.
• Decreasing anxiety by 12.6% more.
Another study found that mindfulness practices can decrease body mass index, waist circumference, weight, and percent of body fat.
Mindfulness is just being present—focused on the present moment rather than ruminating over the past, fearing the future, or chasing your monkey mind. It comes in many forms. Any activity that completely absorbs your focus—like skiing, climbing, or coincidentally, fly-tying can be mindful. There are any number of other exercises you can add to your resilience workout. Just do a quick search for “build emotional resilience.”
The key is to find activities you enjoy. That way you’re much more likely to do them and to work them into your daily routine. For more information about operational stress injury and resilience practices, contact Ollie Neith.
The Genesee Valley Region held its third annual Women’s Mountain Bike Enhancement Seminar at Dryer Road Park, a mountain biking trail network outside of Rochester, NY. This joint event between the Women’s Program and the Bike Program kicked-off with a comprehensive bike safety check, ensuring that all participants were properly equipped and ready to ride. Judy Valachovic organized the day.
The three instructors—Anne Schweighardt and Alexa Harding, part of the local racing and mountain biking scene, as well as Case Morrill, a local rider, instructor, GROC bike patroller, and Bristol Mountain patroller led several team-building exercises to foster a sense of camaraderie and trust among the group. This foundation of safety and teamwork set the tone for an engaging and supportive atmosphere throughout the mountain bike event.
The highlight of the day was two hours of mountain biking instruction and riding led by the three instructors. They carefully designed the instruction to accommodate all experience levels, from beginners to more advanced riders. Each participant had the opportunity to learn new skills, refine their technique, and build confidence on the trails.
After an invigorating ride, they enjoyed a calming yoga session to stretch and relax. The event concluded with a shared lunch, providing a perfect moment for reflection and connection, where participants exchanged stories, celebrated accomplishments, and strengthened the bonds they formed that day.
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.
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.
By now you have all heard about the new Outdoor Risk Management program (ORM). I am happy to announce that as of March of this year the program is available on the NSP website! ORM was over four years in the making and was created by subject matter experts, education professionals, members of the legal community, and, of course, patrollers. There was specific input from the National Ski Areas Association, the Patroller Wellness Taskforce, the Responder Alliance, as well as the NSP Education Committee.
It is designed to give the line patroller a base of knowledge of risk management with an emphasis on how to recognize potential risk and how to approach it. The program consists of 10 modules ranging from the need for ORM general concepts of risk management to ethical considerations. I believe this course will make every patroller a better patroller from the beginning and more of an asset to their patrol and the resort they serve. It is important to note this program is, and will be, a work in progress and nothing is to be interpreted as a strict requirement. We need to be consistently monitoring changes and updates within the industry.
As I said the course consists of 10 modules which take about 10 to 15 minutes per module to complete. They can be completed all at once or one at a time at your leisure. While it is designed to be an individual course many patrols are using some modules in their refreshers, specifically modules 3 (Personal Risk Management and 6(Patrol Operations), with some patrols making it mandatory for this season.
Here are the steps to take to enroll:
1. Sign into your account at nsp.org.
2. On your member home page click on the Center For Learning tab at the middle of the top of the page.
3. On the next page click on Go to your Learning Center tab at the middle of the bottom of the page.
4. On the next page type ORM in the search catalog bar and click on the magnifying glass on the right side of the page.
5. In the box titled Outdoor Risk Management click on the black Enroll button.
The feedback we have been receiving has been nothing but positive. With comments like “The content is great,” I never thought to look at it that way,” to “The best couple of hours I’ve spent on any course, NSP or not.” I urge you all to give it a try, you won’t be disappointed. If you have any questions feel free to email orm@nspserves.org.
For those who don’t know me, I’ve held many positions in over 35 years in NSP but have been out of ski patrol management for quite a while. So why get back into it? As I did then, I still believe in what we do. In the past I’ve been a patrol director, a region OEC administrator, an assistant region director, and the national Instructor Development (ID) program director. I am currently an IT for both OEC and Instructor Development, as well as a senior trainer evaluator for OET, and a PSIA ski instructor.
I’m not listing these things to brag about my resume, because I’m sure many patrollers have equal or better credentials than mine. I’m just trying to illustrate my love of teaching and my dedication to patrolling. Education is my passion. In my real job I’ve been an educator at the college level for over 30 years.
What are my goals for Instructor Development in the Eastern Division? I must admit, I was left with an outstanding program to manage. The reports I received from region advisors are very impressive. One region offered three ID courses in the last five months. That type of initiative reinforces my goal to continue strengthening and building the strongest ID program in the nation.
As many seasoned instructors in all disciplines leave or take a break from teaching, we must continue to bring new instructors into the fold. That starts with Instructor Development courses. Now that we are able to offer hybrid courses, I am encouraging all region advisors to increase their course offerings to accommodate the busy lives of patrollers. There is no longer the need to have a big enrollment to offer a course. In fact, the National ID program is offering frequent virtual course sessions to further meet the needs of those desiring to get started on the road to becoming an NSP instructor.
There are several new things happening in the ID program at the national level. I promise to keep everyone updated. Until then, I hope everyone enjoys what is left of the pre-skiing season.
I learned a lot of things at the Women’s MTR clinic organized by the Genesee Valley Region, under the leadership of Deb Whalen, however two things stood out for me the most.
First, offering a Women’s MTR clinic, especially with the word Women’s in the title, encouraged me to sign up. I know nothing about mountain travel and rescue. I like the idea of being outdoors and camping. But I am by no means one of those people constantly somewhere in the woods with a tent and a compass. I never held a compass until now. The fact the clinic was offered for women specifically and contained a topic I knew nothing about, really made me sign up.
I would probably not have signed up for a general MTR clinic, assuming I knew too little about the subject and would be too embarrassed, or too lost, or too frustrated, or frankly feeling too stupid to understand. The fact it was offered as a Women’s clinic empowered me to say, I would really like to know more about MTR, and I think maybe I can learn and understand. Now don’t get me wrong, there were a lot of subjects in the online portion of the course that made me slightly question my decision. The prospect of navigation was especially scary.
But the fact that our instructors assumed we could totally master the simple concepts of navigation was also empowering. Deb was wonderful and supportive, offering open communication about concepts we found challenging. She made it enjoyable to learn but, at the same time, we knew that if we got stuck in any way, we could call, and she would find a way to explain.
The second part that really stood out to me was the fact that being an “all-girls crew” gave the course a different feeling while attending the in-person portion. It was really refreshing to see that our instructors went the extra mile to teach the concept while fostering and encouraging creativity and individualism.
Some instructors I had in the past made it very clear, that while there are a lot of ways to meet the objective, there is honestly only ONE good way, this being their way. In the program we were asked to make a fire and build a shelter. There were no long monologues about how to best approach this request. The objectives were clearly stated in both cases (fire must burn for more than two minutes; shelter must keep you dry and allow you to survive a night in the wilderness in cold, rainy, and windy conditions).
I saw many fires, and I saw as many shelters as there were teams (seven I believe) and none of them were equal. It was refreshing and empowering to see that shelters can come in different forms, and what you have on hand and your imagination may, in fact, suffice to successfully spend a night in the woods with a fire and shelter. What really stood out is that our instructors and mentors attending fostered creativity and spirit. They helped each individual work to their best ability while not injecting their ego, but meeting or surpassing (you should have seen some of the amazing shelters) the objectives.
I absolutely loved the program, and strongly recommend finding and attending one if you can. I met some wonderful women and left in high spirits feeling empowered and a little in awe of all the great work I saw! And honestly, should we not all know how to use a compass and a map to get us out of the woods?
It’s that time of year when the temperatures start to cool, leaves start to change, and there’s pumpkin spice everything. That means it’s time to start thinking about Ski Patrol training. Have you started to think about your OET training opportunities? There are training events everywhere – at your home area, in your region, and at the division level.
Where do you find these fun events? Patrollerschool.org has links to events in each region and in the division. As a local patroller, look for Ski Enhancement and Toboggan Enhancement Seminars. These are training events where you can refresh your skills, learn new techniques, and challenge yourself.
The next step is the Senior Program. This training fine tunes your skiing and toboggan handling skills in the “more” or “most” difficult terrain. This allows you to train with patrollers from other ski areas in your region. Challenge yourself to ski on new terrain, meet new people, and better your skills.
Following are the goals of the Senior Patroller Outdoor Emergency Transportation program:
To provide a training and evaluation environment which encourages all Patrollers to participate.
To expand and improve the NSP member’s patrolling knowledge and skills through a national program of training and evaluation.
To provide NSP members with the opportunity to obtain quality upper-level training.
To improve the image of Patrollers and the National Ski Patrol.
To provide a method for members to obtain personal improvement and achievement through definable goals.
To prepare patrollers for leadership positions in the National Ski Patrol.
In order to apply, you must get the recommendation of your patrol director and contact your region OET administrator. Encourage a friend to apply with you!
Young adult patrollers have the same training opportunities as adult patrollers and have additional YAP specific training events available. There is an annual YAP summit in the spring for patrollers throughout the division. Are you a YAP or do you have YAPs at your area or region? Talk to your region’s YAP advisor about events scheduled in the region. YAPs are encouraged to participate in the division OET events at patroller schools. This is an opportunity to ski at new areas, meet new patrollers, learn something new, and HAVE FUN!
Join us at Holiday Mountain Ski & Fun Park in Monticello, NY, for a gathering of like-minded Ski Patrollers in a rustic camping environment, all looking to learn about the Certified program and enhance or broaden their patroller skill set. The goal this season is “deep dive into lift evac.” The certified program modules that will be covered at this event will be:
Lift Evacuation
Outdoor Risk Management
Avalanche
Low Angle Rescue
OEC Assessment, Skill & MCI Scenarios
OVERALL AGENDA
Boot Camp provides:
Friday — 4:00-6:00 pm – Arrival & Camp Set-up
Friday — 7:00 pm Meeting
Breakfast and Lunch on Saturday and Sunday
Saturday is BOOT CAMP training Day
Dinner Saturday Night
Bonfire — FUN
ENHANCED PATROLLER SCHOOL
SWAIN MOUNTAIN, NY – Friday, September 13 – Sunday, September 15
This event is low pressure — you can learn, have fun, and network with other patrollers from all around the division. It is open to any currently registered member of NSP, candidate through Certified. It is a hands-on, get dirty, get bloody, play with different gear event. Typical included modules include:
Lift evacuation
Low angle rope rescue,
OEC assessment and skill building,
ORM discussions,
An MCI drill with outside EMS agencies.
Patroller School provides:
Great food all three days,
An easy-going, no pressure learning environment,
Looking at many different ways to meet an objective.
What you need to bring:
An open mind,
Gear that you would like to show off or work with,
Your first aid pack with gloves and supplies.
Rough agenda:
Friday — 1:00 pm – Arrival, registration, and camp set up
Friday — 3:00-6:00 pm – Knot tying and open topics
Friday evening — Fire pit discussion
Saturday — Module station rotations
Saturday evening — MCI discussions and planning and ifre pit discussions
Sunday — MCI drill and feedbac from multiple points of view
One of the best ways to activate the vagus nerve is slow, deep breathing. Attention to breathing shifts your focus away from stressful mind chatter and toward the rhythm of the breath itself.
Did you know that when walking in the forest you breathe in phytoncides—oils released by the trees? These oils can lower levels of the primary stress hormone, cortisol. That’s why you feel calm and less anxious when walking in a forest.
As responders, we tend to move through our days picking up rocks and putting them in our pack. Mindfulness practices are a way to put down the things we don’t need to be carrying. That’s why I integrated mindfulness practice into my daily routine.
The highlight of the day was two hours of mountain biking instruction and riding led by the three instructors. They carefully designed the instruction to accommodate all experience levels, from beginners to more advanced riders. Each participant had the opportunity to learn new skills, refine their technique, and build confidence on the trails.
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.
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.
Some instructors I had in the past made it very clear, that while there are a lot of ways to meet the objective, there is honestly only ONE good way, this being their way. In the program we were asked to make a fire and build a shelter. There were no long monologues about how to best approach this request. The objectives were clearly stated in both cases (fire must burn for more than two minutes; shelter must keep you dry and allow you to survive a night in the wilderness in cold, rainy, and windy conditions).
It’s that time of year when the temperatures start to cool, leaves start to change, and there’s pumpkin spice everything. That means it’s time to start thinking about Ski Patrol training. Have you started to think about your OET training opportunities? There are training events everywhere – at your home area, in your region, and at the division level.
