by David Marks, EPA Awards Advisor | Apr 26, 2026 | Program News, Spotlight Articles
Determining What Award to Give in an OEC Incident
So, you know an OEC incident (can be anywhere, at a ski area or not) where a patient with a critical injury was handled by one or more individuals in an outstanding manner. They saved the life of the patient or kept them from having a negative quality of life outcome. You want to give the team an award, but you aren’t sure what award to give. Here is how to determine which.
The word individual used here refers to patrollers, hosts, or alumni. Individuals must be up to date on their OEC/OFC and dues. Only one merit star per individual per incident may be awarded. Check chapter 12 in the NSP Policies and Procedures for further guidance.
What incidents qualify?
- The patient would have died had patrol not intervened.
- The patient’s quality of life would have suffered negatively had patrol not intervened.
Who gets a Purple Merit Star?
- An individual who performed a lifesaving intervention (CPR, Narcan, etc.). Usually reserved for the lead individual unless more than one individual performed CPR.
- The patient lived for 24 hours or more after leaving patrol.
Who gets a Blue Merit Star?
- Case 1
- An individual who performed a lifesaving intervention (CPR, Narcan, etc.).
- The patient did not live for 24 hours after leaving patrol.
- Case 2
- An individual who had hands-on with a patient in a purple or blue merit star incident but is not eligible for a purple merit star (helped backboard the patient, applied oxygen, finished assessment, etc.).
Who gets a Yellow Merit Star?
- An individual who assisted a purple or blue merit star incident but did not have hands-on with the patient (drove the toboggan, brought equipment to the scene, etc.).
Who gets a Green Merit Star?
- An individual who puts their own life (the rescuer, not the patient) at risk to rescue/extricate a patient (pulled a patient from a burning vehicle, climbed into tree well, etc.).
Who gets a Red Merit Star?
- The incident does not qualify for a purple or blue merit star and must be less than two years old.
- Individuals who prevented a patient from suffering a negative quality of life outcome, or recognized a critical injury, stabilized the patient, and obtained rapid transport (repositioned to allow blood flow, stroke, heart attack, etc.).
Who gets a Division Certificate of Appreciation?
- This award is reserved for individuals who assisted in a red merit star incident but did not have hands-on with the patient (drove the toboggan, brought equipment to the scene, etc.)
by Chuck Boyd, Nordic/Backcountry Supervisor | Apr 26, 2026 | Program News
Bolton Nordic Patroller School was our big event of the season and Ullr, the Norse God of Snow, delivered. With fresh snow on both Friday and Saturday nights we were primed for both XC and backcountry skiing evaluations! We minted four new senior Nordic/Backcountry Patrollers as well as two new Nordic Patrollers. Typically, we also do a Nordic Master evaluation, but this year our candidate had a medical issue just before the event was to begin. They will be back for next year.
Saturday, we toured the Nordic center as our Nordic candidates lead the tour navigating using Caltopo and being evaluated on their ski skills along the way. Four to six inches of fresh snow helped make everyone a good skier. Low Angle Rescue skills were demonstrated and mastered in the afternoon before we started the Search and Rescue lost skier exercise. Everyone navigated successfully to locate their lost skier and the prize that awaited them.
Sunday delivered with more fresh snow as we headed up to the Bryant cabin to complete the skills check-off and ski powder in the glades. Skiing the powder in the glades was magical! It brought back memories of my senior evaluation where I chased our mentor Pete Snyder through these same glades, in the same conditions! It made me feel really good as the candidate patrollers followed me into those same glades.
We would like to thank the Bolton Valley Ski Patrol for their logistical support and camaraderie. Keep your eyes on the Patroller School website for next year’s events. We hope to see you there.
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 Tim Franz, Bike Supervisor | Apr 2, 2026 | Program News
For most of you, your patrolling season is about to end. But bike patrollers are just now preparing for our upcoming season! Many of the bike patrollers you see out there are, in fact, year-round patrol members, also serving as alpine or Nordic patrollers in the winter.
Coming this Summer from the Bike Program
• Watch for upcoming events and news. The bike program is still developing and growing across our division. Bike patrollers across the U.S. serve in many areas, including urban roads/gravel trails, in XC/backcountry locations, and at downhill/gravity bike parks (these work more like the typical alpine patrol).
• Curious about bike patrolling? Come to one of our summer bike patroller schools! Any NSP member is welcome, including hosts, physician partners, alpine patrollers, and Nordic patrollers. As of now, we have two scheduled. The first will be in June/July in the Genesee Valley Region and will be XC-oriented. The second is scheduled for September 12-13, 2026 at HoliMont Bike Park in WNY and will be at a downhill park.
• If you’d like to learn more about bike patrolling or get some bike training, we have instructors who are ready to teach classes in WNY, GVR, EMARI, WMASS, NJ, SVT, and EPA.
• Interested in getting qualified to teach in the bike program? Talk to a bike program region advisor, one of our instructors, or email Tim Franz (Bike Program Supervisor) or John Wolf (Assistant Bike Program Supervisor).
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.
