Division News
2024 Awards
The Eastern Division has an incredibly talented group of patrollers. We are proud that so many were honored with awards this year. This is a list of the awards winners for 2024, including our Eastern Division patrollers who won National Outstanding Awards and the Eastern Division Outstanding Awards winners. The list also includes National and Leadership Commendation Appointments, Distinguished and Meritorious Service, Purple, Blue, Green, and Yellow Merit Stars, Patriot Star, Patroller Cross, and Patroller Achievement Award winners, plus 50-year Lifetime Service Awards. Click below to see all of the 2024 awards.
Alumni Events Galore!
2025 Annual Alumni & Patroller Celebration – March 16-20
• Celebrate, ski, and reconnect at the 2nd Annual Eastern Division NSP Alumni & Patroller Celebration!
• Join us at Stratton Mountain for an unforgettable gathering of NSP alumni and patrollers as we celebrate our shared passion for skiing and patrolling!
• Come for as long as you’d like—whether it’s a day or the whole event, the choice is yours!
• Click below to learn about events in other regions.
Memorial Fund Scholarships
It’s that time of year when students are anticipating acceptance letters, narrowing down college majors, and making their final decisions about where to commit to for next fall. Current students and adult learners may be exploring graduate programs, or further coursework to facilitate a career change. Any Eastern Division patroller who is seeking to pursue further education is eligible to apply for the 2025 David J. Nelson Sr. Memorial Scholarship. Now is the time of year to apply. Applications will be accepted through March 31. Click below for more information and a recap of our 2024 Memorial Scholarship recipients.
Women’s Program: A Successful Season So Far
The Eastern Division’s Women’s Program is off to a fantastic start for the 2024-2025 season, with a series of successful clinics that have drawn great enthusiasm and participation. The program continues to provide opportunities for women of all skill levels to improve their mountain sports abilities, try new activities, and connect with like-minded peers. This season, the program has hosted clinics at Elk, Killington, Smugglers’ Notch, Gore, Plattekill, Wisp, Labrador, and Burke Mountain. In addition to ski and toboggan enhancement, the program has offered guided uphill skiing, skiing/riding, GPS search and navigation, and Nordic.
Another Successful Nordic Fest
Nordic Fest was a blast! It started snowing on Friday night and we woke up to several inches of new snow blanketing the area. Highland Forest was our gracious host providing the Pines Cabins for the weekend. Saturday started with half the group taking skate ski lessons with PSIA L3 Instructor Candice Raines, who did a superb job teaching. Her husband, Thayer, worked with those who required more basic skate ski instruction. Highland Forest provided rental skis for those who needed them. The other half of the group took classic ski lessons with division staff members Phil Galka and Mike Lapierre. The highlight of the classic lessons was doing the ‘Dead Bug’ to get up after a fall.
Calling All Telemark & Snowboard Patrollers
Join us at the Patroller School dedicated to only Telemark and Snowboard on Saturday and Sunday, February 8-9 at Waterville Valley, NH. What makes this patroller school different from all the others? There are only snowboarders training snowboarders and telemark skiers training telemark skiers. This small event is limited to 20 snowboarders and 20 telemark skiers, assuring a great teacher-to-student ratio.
Nordic/Backcountry Events
Well, the new year kind of wreaked havoc with our snowpack leaving us firm to icy conditions, or no snow at all. But here in the east Mother Nature has a way of correcting herself. Our western regions received a good amount of lake-effect snow. This set us up nicely for Nordic Fest. Our second event at Pike Glades in NH is still in the planning stages and registration should open soon. Patrollerschool.org is the place to find out more information and to register. Our OET staff is putting more emphasis on skate skiing this season. This is the fastest-growing aspect of our sport, and who doesn’t want to look like Jessie Diggins? With trail running becoming so popular in the other seasons, runners have taken to skate skiing to enjoy the winter season and maintain their aerobic fitness.
Senior OET Evaluation Changes
This year the Senior OET Evaluation includes two major updates to the format of the evaluation. The changes aim to make the assessment more relevant and practical, mirroring how these critical patroller skills are used in practice.
Patroller Skills-Blended Skills Run
Moving forward, all Senior Evaluations in the Eastern Division will evaluate patroller skills as a blended skills run, including snowplow, sideslip, moving change in direction (i.e. transition or pivot slip), and a static change in direction in a designated location (i.e., kick turn, wedge and match, jump turn or static 180 for snowboards).
In years past, a Senior Candidate would complete patroller skills separately, performing a snowplow run and a sideslip run. In practice, when a patroller is handling a toboggan they use a BLEND of these skills to achieve a smooth ride for the patient.
Avalanche Courses Available
Hello everyone. Winter is upon us, and the snow has been falling. Thanks to some early-season storms the backcountry is skiing nicely. With that, it is time to think about avalanche safety when venturing into the backcountry. The Eastern Division is running three Level 1 Avalanche classes this season. If you are venturing out into Tuckerman Ravine or getting ready for the Certified program these classes are for you. Our first class is coming up soon, from January 24-26 at Whiteface Mountain in NY. Registration is now open.
Outstanding Awards Deadline Approaching
It’s Eastern Division Outstanding Award nomination season and there are 21 openings to receive those titles. Each “opening” is listed, with a brief list of the requirements, on the Eastern Division webpage under Programs/Awards. Current nomination forms for Outstanding Patroller or Outstanding Patrol must be downloaded from the NSP website. Completed nominations are due to the Division Awards Advisor by March 1.
