Division News
Outstanding Alumni & Patroller Event
Melanie Musczynski, EDIV Safety Team & Oliver Loewen, Stratton Patrol
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.
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.
Women’s Programs Galore
Women’s program events were held all over the Eastern Division this year. A One-Day Women’s Toboggan Event was held at Elk Mountain on Friday, January 23. It was a huge success! 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. And an amazing women’s empowerment clinic was held at Bristol Mountain on Saturday, March 7. Click below to read more about each event.
Red Merit Star
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.
Nordic/Backcountry in The Glades
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.
Avalanche – End of Season Update
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.
Pro Division OET Recerts
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 Divisions 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.
Nordic/Backcountry Training
Highland Forest in fresh snow.
Are you ready to be signed off as a Nordic senior or would you still like additional training with the division staff? If so, come join us at Bolton Valley, VT on the weekend of March 21-22, 2026. Bolton Valley has some of the most diversified terrain in the division. It allows us to evaluate XC skiing, backcountry skiing, and alpine touring.
If you are looking to complete your Nordic/Backcountry basic or senior, or train for Nordic Master, come out and join us. Registration is on patrollerschool.org or contact the Nordic/BC Program Supervisor Chuck Boyd.
Patroller & Alumni Event Update
Join us again for the Third Patroller and Alumni event. It will be a week of skiing, information, camaraderie, and après ski good times. We will again celebrate our shared passion for skiing and patrolling! Be there for as long as it’s fun for you! We hope you can stay the whole time, but your stay is up to you! No charge for notable alumni and patroller events. All costs for lodging, lift tickets, and meals are on you.
UPDATED INFORMATION 2/19/26
DATES: The event will coincide with their “Friends and Family Week”, March 15 – 20, 2026
Minnie Dole Heritage Museum
On January 23, Eastern Division Patrollers Sue-Ellen Helmacy, John Beach, and Scott Launt were proud to be a part of the celebration ceremony honoring our founder, Charles “Minnie’ Dole. The museum at Fort Drum, New York will forever be known as the Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole Heritage Museum Complex. Accompanying us was Central New York Alumna Susie Turner.
The ceremony featured remarks from Commanding Major General Scott Naumann and Minnie’s grandson, Trux Dole. The General gave a brief history of Minnie’s quest to have the War Department implement mountain troops and his eventual success in doing so.
Avalanche Program Update
This winter has been cold and snowy for the Avalanche Program. The first course of the season at Whiteface Mountain, NY, saw 16 students successfully complete their Level 1 Avalanche Certification. Over three days spent outdoors in the backcountry and on the mountain, students learned how to evaluate the snowpack and execute avalanche rescues.
Students plan to use their newly found knowledge to venture onto bigger terrain out west, pursue backcountry skiing in the east, and continue on toward the Certified Program.
