Educational Program News
TWO GREAT EVENTS – Register Now
The Certified Boot Camp will be held at Holiday Mountain, NY on Friday, August 16 to Sunday, August 18. The Enhanced Patroller School will be held at Swain Mountain, NY, on Friday September 13 to Sunday, September 15. Click below for details.,
New Certified Chair Inspired by the Best Trainers
My name is Bill Zink. I started patrolling in 1994 at Ski Roundtop, a little hill in the southwest section of the Eastern Pennsylvania Region of the Eastern Division of the National Ski Patrol. I received my rust and blue coat on February 13, 1995, from one of the best trainers, Gordie Bell.
The next night, in my rush to get out on the slope and patrol, I promised my wife Natalie I would be home by 8 pm on Valentine’s night to celebrate our new house. Somewhere around 7:30 pm, while riding the chairlift, I witnessed a high-speed collision of two skiers…
The Certified Program: How it all began
In 1964, National Director Chuck Schobinger forwarded a committee report from the Southern Rocky Mountain Division to George Wesson, Jr. to work out the details for a ‘Certified’ program.
The Eastern Division put together a committee of inspiring New England patrollers to work out the details and proficiency requirements for a pilot program. It would demand the highest level of proficiency from patrollers through training and testing and would promote a level of patrolling in which there would be no compromise with excellence in skiing, first aid, patrol management, administration, and leadership.
Two years later, during the 1967-68 season, the pilot program was launched…
New Women’s Program Supervisor
I would like to introduce myself, Heather Newman, as the next Women’s Advisor for the Eastern Division. I grew up skiing at a small (one T-bar, six runs) mountain in Northern Maine and started my patrol career in 2010. Since 2013, I have been a volunteer patroller at Saddleback in Rangeley, Maine. I am a Senior Patroller, an OEC Instructor, and an OET TE. Over the past six years, I have worked with the Maine Region as the Women’s Advisor and am very excited to take on my new role.
Women in the Wild
The Genesee Valley Region hosted its first MTR (Mountain Travel and Rescue) Women’s Clinic, “Women in the Wild,” on June 2, 2024. An energetic group of 24 women from regions throughout New York State and New Jersey representing 10 different alpine and Nordic patrols attended and were able to refresh and/or be introduced to a combination of skills.
Annual AMN Instructor Refresher
Every Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic/Backcountry Instructor must attend an Instructor Refresher every three years. These three programs work together to offer a combined Instructor Refresher annually. This year’s AMN Instructor Refresher is being held at Spring Mountain in Pennsylvania on September 14 & 15, 2024.
How To Form a Bike Patrol in 10 Easy Steps
Interested in starting a bike patrol in your area? Here’s a list of 10 easy steps to get started.
- Determine what type of patrol your area needs and why.
a. Resort- or park-based, public lands, multi-land manager systems,
b. Paved routes, mountain bike trails, or some combination,
c. Host unit or patrol unit or a hybrid of both. - Meet with your region director, your region bike advisor, and possibly the National Bike Program advisor.
- Meet with the land manager(s) to discuss the agreement/memorandum of understanding.
2024 Young Adult Patroller Summit
The Eastern Division Young Adult Patroller Summit was held March 8-11, 2024, at Smugglers’ Notch, Vermont with 78 young adults attending from around the division. Young adults converged for three days of intense training and competition. Mother Nature provided a bit of everything; moments of sun, rain, snow, and plenty of wind. Her indecisiveness was nothing compared to the energy and stoke from attendees!
What’s Coming for the Bike Units?
The NSP Bike Program Committee has been hard at work for the past year on creating education programming for bike patrols.
What Are the Current Classes for Bike Patrols?
Bike Fundamentals Course This course is for people considering joining a bike patrol or those who have just joined. It will help patrol members learn the fundamentals all bike patrollers and bike hosts need to effectively assist others while patrolling. Some of the topics include the types of units, duties and responsibilities of bike patrol units, and how to help others while you are patrolling.
Program Delivery Across the Division
Welcome to winter in the northeast – rain, snow, rain, ice, rain, wind, snowmageddon, or nothing. Despite our winter weather situation, the Eastern Division has delivered multiple education programs for our members with more still available. MTR programs were available in November and December. Multiple patroller schools have been held since January throughout the Division, including Sugarloaf, Elk, Killington, Plattekill, and Seven Springs. A snowboard/tele-specific event was held at Waterville Valley as well. Gore will be hosting an upcoming patroller school at the end of February. Women’s clinics have been embedded in many of the patroller schools which have been very well attended.
