by Joe Zarek, Central Division News Editor | Jan 21, 2026 | National News, Spotlight Articles
This end of season 3-day national member event will leave ski patrollers and alumni with lasting memories and knowledge to improve their skills. Taught by NSP Instructors from around the country, members should look forward to ski and snowboard enhancement seminars, toboggan enhancement seminars, OEC on-snow scenarios at a basic and senior level, Avalanche Level 1 course, Avalanche Beacon Challenge, Outdoor Risk Management ride-along, an opportunity to open or close the mountain, and watch an avalanche dog demonstration by Park City Ski Patrol.
The fun doesn’t stop there! We will have Women’s Program clinics as well as Alumni/MVP clinics, and Senior and Certified events for patrollers looking to level up their skill sets. And if you haven’t ever tried a four-handled toboggan now’s your chance! Sign up for a clinic to learn from either Mike Hafer or Eric Rolls from the PSIA-AASI National Team – this is a rare opportunity to get expert level ski and ride lessons.
Let’s pump it up! Peaks and Beats Music Fest will occur right in Canyons Village. There’s fun activities for everyone! Join us for evening social events and stop by the trade show to see the latest and greatest products. But hurry, registration closes March 2nd. Register now for a chance to win a FREE Last Tracks registration. Drawings will be conducted on February 1 and 14 and March 1 from those currently registered.
More information will be in the early February issue of
Trail Sweep. Please visit
www.nspcentral.org to register. See you in Park City!
by Jacques Townsend, D.O. , Baystate Medical Center | Dec 22, 2025 | Program News, Spotlight Articles
In mountain rescue, the moments between injury and definitive care can determine outcomes. The Regional Mountain Trauma System (RMTS) was founded to strengthen every link in that chain. From the ski slopes to the trauma bay we work to connect ski patrols, EMS providers, and trauma centers through shared communication, education, and feedback.
RMTS grew from the recognition that mountain trauma presents unique challenges. Response often begins miles from the nearest road, in terrain where evacuation is slow and resources are limited. Once a patient reaches the hospital, vital field details can easily be lost. RMTS closes that gap by creating a seamless continuum of care, ensuring that ski patrollers on-scene expertise directly informs hospital treatment—and that trauma center insights return to the mountain.
At the program’s core are monthly multidisciplinary case reviews bringing together ski patrols, EMS crews, and trauma teams. Each session centers on a real incident, whether a high-speed ski collision, a snowmobile rollover, or a mountain bike crash, and asks not just what happened, but how we can improve next time. These discussions generate practical, mountain-specific education that can be immediately applied to all mountains in the region. The sessions are intentionally collaborative and non-punitive, fostering a shared language of care across all levels of the response system.
Perhaps RMTS’s most powerful innovation so far has been the creation of the Mountain Trauma Dashboard. The dashboard represents a centralized data system that tracks the incidents, type, and severity of mountain-related injuries throughout Western Massachusetts. Built through integration with hospital trauma registries at Berkshire Medical Center and Baystate Medical Center, this tool provides near real-time insight into injury patterns originating from participating mountains. It allows both resort patrols and trauma centers to recognize trends in mechanism and outcome, identify clusters of serious incidents, and target education or equipment changes where they are most needed.
A two-part MIST form was designed to be used for medical transport. One copy stays with the patrol, and one goes with the patient/EMS crew, and it is provided to the trauma team doctors, so the patient’s initial assessment is preserved.
By aggregating and analyzing this data across the season, RMTS can provide mountains with evidence-based feedback about patient outcomes long after they’ve left the hill. For example, when the dashboard identifies higher-than-expected rates of chest injuries in the region, RMTS can coordinate a focused case review or training session addressing splinting, pain control, or transport decisions related to those cases. This closed-loop feedback transforms anecdotal experience into actionable information, directly improving safety and response efficiency across the system.
The program’s reach also extends beyond the winter months. As many resorts transition into summer adventure parks, RMTS continues to track warm-weather injuries among mountain bikers, hikers, and climbers. By monitoring data year-round, the system identifies how terrain, weather, and usage patterns influence injury types, helping patrols adapt staffing and safety measures across all seasons.
Each fall, RMTS collaborates with ski patrols during their preseason annual OEC refreshers, sharing the latest clinical insights, updated trauma guidelines, and lessons drawn from dashboard data. Trauma surgeons and EMS educators participate directly in these sessions, reinforcing a culture of continuous learning and pre-season coordination between hospitals and mountains.
The lessons so far are clear: effective mountain trauma care depends on systems, not silos. When patrollers, paramedics, flight crews, and trauma teams share information and understand each other’s realities, outcomes improve. Small changes — like improved communication loops or data-driven insights — translate into faster transport, better triage, and safer recoveries for injured mountain athletes.
As RMTS continues to evolve, its vision remains focused on building a replicable model of integrated mountain medicine. The mountain environment will always be unpredictable, but with shared learning and collaboration, the care we deliver can be consistently strong, coordinated, and ready for whatever the slopes bring next.
If you would like more information about the RMTS program contact Mark Kryskow.
Jacques Townsend, DO, Baystate Medical Center
Seth Bernard, DO, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center
Mark Kryskow, DO FACS, Berkshire Medical Center, US ARMY Reserves
Peter Alusitz, Western Massachusetts ROA
Kevin Zorda, Western Massachusetts STC
Bill Welch, Western Massachusetts contributor
by Rachel Tobler, Smugglers' Notch | Dec 22, 2025 | Spotlight Articles
Julie Bowman-Tuck’s Patrol, Cathe Neuberger-Smugglers’ Notch, SANTA, Rachel Tobler-Smugglers’ Notch
It was a casual late morning tour up The Cog rail line on Mount Washington. We made our way up we traveling in pairs, exchanging stories, talking about past adventures and how we ended up patrolling. There was a rotation of the pairings and who lead the charge, so we all got to talk to each other. After all there is so much to learn from one another.
We got up to the point where The Cog turns around in the winter, ate some snacks, and added some layers to continue up to Jacob’s Ladder. We chatted in a circle eating yummy chocolate treats and makeshift sandwich wraps. Santa came up to us with a bag over his shoulder. Jokingly one of us said “you got any goodies in there?” Santa responded with a very scientific monologue about how diamonds are formed, that they are made from coal. He told us that all his elves in his workshop make the diamonds and have college degrees.
It was silly. We laughed along with his story, took a picture, and started to prepare to continue the tour. Two of us hung back to adjust our packs and after entertaining some kids Santa returned and enthusiastically said “go ahead and reach in the bag!” We pulled out a piece of coal! As a matter of fact a squishy, foam, stress toy piece of coal. We thanked him and continued on our way.
We made it to Jacob’s Ladder and took celebratory photos at a lookout point. Santa waved to us from The Cog while we skied down. The adventure was then topped off with yummy ice cream and promises to do another adventure together in the future.
Meeting Santa was serendipitous, but in the spirit of the holiday season his overly scientific explanation of diamonds forming stuck in my mind. Coal and diamonds are both valuable just in different ways. Coal provides energy and power and diamonds provide memories, history, and pricelessness. This made me think about the diversity I see amongst my patrol and what I believe to cascade among many others. New folks joining patrols and bringing so much energy and vivacity to the patrol—they are the coal.
Sorry newbies, but as one myself please take it as a compliment. Folks that have been patrolling for more years than I’ve been alive, they are our diamonds, they teach us the history, bring us the memories, and offer priceless contributions to their patrol. We are lucky to have these diamonds. There seems to be a trend of coal turning into diamonds, perhaps this is because of the amazing people that make up our patrols, the wonderful programs that are offered to all, and the camaraderie and community.
This holiday season I am thankful for the diamonds and the coal, and the community I have found here. Cheers!
by Les Blomberg, Mt. Washington Ski Patrol | Dec 22, 2025 | Division News, Program News, Spotlight Articles
Monty AtwaterThe Eastern Division Roger H. Damon Jr. Avalanche Award was developed and first presented in 2013 in accordance with criteria from NSP’s Montgomery Atwater National Avalanche Award, to recognize Eastern Division’s NSP members, or non-members, who have made outstanding and continuing contributions to the Avalanche Program with significant division impact. Examples of such contributions might fall under management, curriculum development, publication, scientific discovery, instruction, or any combination thereof.
Roger Damon
Roger was the first recipient of this award in 2013 when he then had 67 years of service, including time served at Norwich University, Burke Mountain, and the Mount Washington Ski Patrols. Also, during his time in the military, Roger patrolled at a mountain in Austria where his interest in avalanche safety began. He retired from the Mount Washington Ski Patrol in 2018 at the age of 89, after one last season of hiking up to Tuckerman Ravine, assisting in rescues, and then skiing out the Sherburne Ski Trail at the end of the day.
Other recipients of this prestigious award include:
Brad Ray—2015, for his work as a National Forest Service (NFS) Snow Ranger from 1958 to 2001, writing avalanche advisories, educating the public about avalanche hazards, and conducting countless rescues in Tuckerman Ravine. Brad joined the Mount Washington Ski Patrol when he retired from the NFS in 2021.
Brooke Taber and Conor Lahiff—2016, Burlington, VT-based weather forecasters for the National Weather Service for their contribution to NSP Eastern Division avalanche courses by teaching the weather portion of the Avalanche Triangle.
Chuck Boyd—2024, for his leadership and support of the Eastern Division Avalanche Program over the last 25 years, including serving as the Eastern Division Avalanche Supervisor.
Les Blomberg—2025, for his leadership, mentorship, and dedication to the Eastern Division Avalanche Program over the last 35 years. Les is the go-to member of the Team for Companion and Group Rescue as well as mentoring new instructors. He has produced and copyrighted pocket guides on Companion Rescue for students.
Les and Chuck were recruited by Roger and working side by side with him teaching outdoor education and avalanche fundamentals to both NSP and non-NSP educational venues in the White, Green, and Adirondack Mountains.
Chuck Boyd Roger Damon Les Blomberg
Chuck and Les were able to visit Roger on December 5 to share memories and thank him for all his contributions and for mentoring them as they grew into the avalanche education and division avalanche program leadership. Without Roger we would not have the avalanche program we have today. Wishing Roger all the best!
2013 Trail Sweep article about the Roger Damon Avalanche Award
by Allan Miller, Alumni Supervisor | Dec 22, 2025 | Spotlight Articles
Allan Miller
Division Alumni Advisor
We Know the options, so you don’t need to…until you do! For most of us, when we join the National Ski Patrol and choose the area where we want to work, we don’t think much about the future.
Life happens, and some situations may require you to seriously consider how to navigate them without leaving our organization. This is when you go directly to your patrol, region, or division alumni advisor to learn about your membership options. NSP offers several that can help you without requiring you to relinquish your OEC certification. It is our responsibility to work with you and your patrol director to establish a plan that works for you.
Alumni are not a bunch of old patrollers sitting around telling snow stories…although there is some of that! It is one of several options NSP provides to help you stay connected to your patrol and NSP. We can help you understand them all and choose one that works for you.
Visit the Eastern Division website to learn more about the alumni program.
by John Wolf, Liberty Mountain Ski Patrol PD | Dec 22, 2025 | Division News, Spotlight Articles
As the 2025-2026 ski season gets underway, the Liberty Mountain Ski Patrol (LMSP) marks a significant milestone: sixty years of dedicated service to the skiing community and the National Ski Patrol system.
From Oregon Ridge to Liberty Mountain
Their story begins around 1965 when patrollers from the then recently-closed Oregon Ridge Ski Area in Hunt Valley, Maryland, brought their expertise to a newly developed resort in the rolling hills of south-central Pennsylvania. Originally known as Charnita—named for developers Charles and Anita Rist—the ski area faced early financial challenges. When the resort went bankrupt in the early 1970s, those committed patrollers persevered.
In 1974, when Irv Naylor acquired the property and renamed it Ski Liberty, the patrol members took a defining step: they ratified bylaws to provide lasting structure and guidance, a measure that was truly ahead of its time. That formalization, now over fifty years old, created the foundation for an organization that would become a stalwart within the Eastern Division.
Leadership Within the NSP System
LMSP’s impact extends far beyond the 600 vertical feet of their home mountain. The patrol was named the 1995 and 2025 Eastern Division Large Alpine Patrol of the Year, a testament to their commitment to excellence. Members have served at the highest levels of the NSP, including as National Chair and as legal counsel, Divisional and National, for the organization for decades and have ended up in the most prestigious halls of fame and honor that the NSPS has to offer. Not to mention the countless number of instructors that the patrol has produced over the last 60 years as well as countless other leadership positions its members have held at all levels (sectional, regional, and divisional). Their innovative practices, safety protocols, and accident documentation have been adopted by patrols and ski industry organizations across the country.
A Family Tradition
What truly distinguishes LMSP is the deep sense of family that permeates the organization. Multiple generations have served together; spouses, parents and children, even grandparents and grandchildren have shared patrol duties. In the early 1980s, patrol members and their families literally built their community together, constructing a family room annex to the first aid facility. When the patrol outgrew that space in the mid-1990s, families again came together to create new facilities.
Pioneers and Mentors
The patrol’s success rests on the shoulders of pioneers who set the standard for generations to follow. Legends like Wally Shank, Bill Sachs, Bob Scarlett, and countless others who established a culture of excellence and mentorship that continues today.
Bob Starr, who joined as a teenager in the early 1970s and who continues to actively patrol in the present day, summed up the patrol’s enduring appeal: “The people bring us back. We are all friends who support each other.”
Beyond the Slopes
LMSP’s commitment to service extends well beyond Liberty Mountain. Patrol members regularly provide support for community events including the JFK 50-miler ultramarathon, the Annapolis Running Festival, the Baltimore 10-Miler, and the Maryland Interscholastic Cycling League races, among many others. This community involvement reflects the patrol’s broader mission of service and safety.
Looking Ahead
Today, LMSP comprises approximately 120 members, over half of whom are volunteers. They represent diverse professional backgrounds from across the mid-Atlantic region united by a passion for skiing/riding and helping others.
Entering its seventh decade the patrol faces ever evolving challenges, yet the foundation laid by those Oregon Ridge patrollers sixty years ago remains strong. A legacy of service, excellence, and family that continues to define LMSP.
As the 2025-2026 season progresses and LMSP celebrates this diamond anniversary, the patrol stands as a reminder of what makes the National Ski Patrol special: dedicated patrollers who brave harsh weather, provide exceptional care, and create lasting bonds of friendship through service and passion. Here’s to sixty years of keeping the slopes safe at Liberty Mountain and to many more seasons ahead.
by Kurt Adam, RD EPA | Dec 22, 2025 | Region News, Spotlight Articles
Bear Creek Ski Patrol/Mountain Host (Team BCMR) members participated in the 2025 Lehigh Valley Plane Pull fundraiser for Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Among those pulling for Team BCMR Mountain Host/Ski Patrol were Alison Hudak, Holly Krause, Roger Ritchi, and Chet Ochar.
Team BCMR finished in 2nd place for their division pulling 175,000 lbs. of pure plane (FedEx cargo plane at Lehigh Valley International Airport) the designated distance (about 25 ft) in 8.12 seconds.
Teams across the Lehigh Valley participated and raised a total of $57,000 for Special Olympics. Team BCMR was a new member of the event this year. Just goes to show Ski Patrollers and Mountain Hosts are not just pretty faces on the hill, they possess Superhero strength.
by Trail Sweep Staff | Nov 19, 2025 | Spotlight Articles
After we went to press, the authors felt that there were some corrections/additions that needed to be made. In the interest of everyone reading the corrected copy this article has been pulled. Stay tuned for the December issue.
by Larry Davis, Santiam Pass PNW Division | Nov 19, 2025 | Program News, Spotlight Articles
Reflections from Larry Davis Pacific Northwest Division, Nordic Master #22
Before boots hit the colorful fallen leaves on the ground at Pike Glades, AMN25 (Avalanche, Mountaineering, Nordic) instructor participants were already deep into the work. The Annual AMN Instructor Refresher was successfully hosted at Pike Glades, NH September 25-28, 2025, and provided 80+ instructors with the opportunity to hone their instructional skills together in this rugged outdoor center. Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors and instructor candidates worked together to elevate learning.
Flipped Learning Model
Patroller School’s online AMN curriculum laid the groundwork — four content areas, each building on last year’s AMN24, designed not just to inform but to prepare. This wasn’t fluff. The material was practical, mountain-professional grade, and built for the field. By the time participants arrived, they weren’t just reviewing — they were ready to coach and be coached. AMN’s flipped-classroom model isn’t just a clever phrase; it’s a shift in how we instruct and model effective outdoor instruction.
The whole point of bringing everyone out for three days was simple: elevate the skills and align the content. We’re running under a new mission too: “Rescue Ready Resource Smart.” It sounds like a bumper sticker, but it has deeper meaning. There were no PowerPoints® or long classroom lectures during field work. If you’re going to teach you need to be out there doing it, coaching activity, and not just standing and talking.
AMN’s flipped-classroom model wasn’t just a talking point— it was the backbone of AMN25. Patroller School’s Moodle LMS delivered four tightly focused modules ahead of the event, each building on last year’s AMN24 foundation. The content was practical, mountain-grade, and designed to stick. For many, it wasn’t just a refresher — it was a reset and level up. New accessibility features like text-to-speech made the material more inclusive to learning styles, and the Patroller School content remains available as a resource long after the tents are packed. In the field, CalTopo on mobile devices replaced the GPS standalone units, with offline downloaded layers giving patrollers the edge in planning and navigation. It’s a quiet shift, but a meaningful one — evolving to standard technology used by rescuers, without tech for the sake of technology.
Meet up in Pike Glades
Eastern Division instructors and others from as far as Oregon and Idaho came together to learn from each other, align, and elevate our instruction in Pike Glades. This is an excellent environment for a backcountry patroller school, with camping space, just the right number of rustic amenities, and expansive woods, trails, and hills perfect for practicing backcountry skills. Pike Glades is an area established for backcountry travel by the Granite Backcountry Alliance, with ongoing development of trails and amenities. GBA members were part of the weekend, both as volunteers and local experts helping patrollers understand the significance of the location and filling in local area knowledge. https://granitebackcountryalliance.org/
Instruction Technology – Prep for the Wilderness
The entire weekend was run on the philosophy that coaching replaces teaching. How’d we pull that off?
Instructors did the “classroom” homework before they even packed up the gear for travel. All the foundational knowledge was delivered online through the PatrollerSchool.org on the Moodle LMS. We’re serious about making this accessible too. We even rolled out Text-to-Speech (Natura Reader) as a new service in the Moodle courses this year, so everyone gets a fair shot at the material no matter what their learning style.
This pre-event preparation in Patroller School online meant that when you showed up at Pike Glades you weren’t wasting daylight. Every hour was dedicated to hands-on evolutions built around a tight cycle: “Content Delivery interspersed with Student Activities, monitored for effectiveness then repeated.” It’s about making a mistake, seeing it, fixing it, and owning the skill.
The Heart of the Lesson
The stations were focused on practical competence, standardization, and a couple of essential new tricks:
- Instructor Development lessons from Patroller School and coaching on the mountain helped participants to lean into the 6-Pack concepts of the Heart of the Lesson. Use the Heart of the Lesson and the Experiential Learning Cycle to guide the student’s growth collaboratively through active learning and coaching. The ID concepts permeated the other stations.
- Mountain Travel & Rescue (MTR): The focus was on low angle rescue systems. We’re standardizing these rope rescue systems education across the Eastern Division and simplifying the components so rescuers can get it right when it counts. The systems this year featured:
- minimizing gear hauling requirements, e.g. munter hitches over descender devices, improvised webbing harnesses consistently tied,
- anchors created with basket hitches, allowing sewn slings or pre-tied webbing to be used,
- adding safety by using two inline prussic hitches for secure load capture,
- rigging for simplified Up/Down directional changes during early system rigging, and
- safety factor calculations for use in the field.
- Nordic/Backcountry: “You have to know where you are in these woods.” The Nordic station put the hands-on into navigation with mobile phone technology and SAR Topo app navigation. Following the trend for rescuers to use their mobile devices for navigation, we drilled skills with SAR Topo on mobile phones which is becoming a standard for rescue groups. The AMN leaders demonstrated, coached, and prepared each participant for a custom solo-route to find waypoints through the rugged New England woods. We brought it full circle after the electronic route-finding to plot our waypoints on paper maps and create a bearing and distance record of the adventure. Participants found their way, overcoming low cell signal by utilizing offline maps and pre-selected data layers. A sunny Sunday hike sealed the Nordic knowledge as participants collaborated to set and follow a route to the top of Iron Mountain, complete with snacks and a group photo opportunity.
- Avalanche : The practice focused on Avy transceiver search techniques and treating victims post-avalanche rescue-patient care for hypothermia. Skilled leaders coached participants to quickly and efficiently locate Avy victims in multi-burial scenarios while using common transceiver models and varied search techniques. The highest skill was the introduction of the Hypo Wrap technique. It’s a smart, simple backcountry method for keeping a hypothermic or an injured patient warm until additional resources and ground transport arrive. Don’t leave home without knowing it. Participants practiced with standard rescue equipment and improvised systems from whatever was available in their rescue packs.
Why We Show Up
The true value of AMN far outshines the checkbox for continuing education credits; participants experiencing community. You had patrollers and candidates from all over the Eastern Division and even some West Coasters camped out sharing a potluck on Saturday night and hashing out the details with program leaders. This event is where we build our leadership core. instructor candidates got essential mentoring and networking time, and many took home new instruction to share in their home area. The up level of consistency and professionalism you teach on your mountain this winter starts right here.
patrollers. Registration closes March 2, 2026.
