Eastern Division NSP's News Magazine
Find all the latest Trail Sweep news displayed with excerpts on the home page. Search news by keyword or by category below.
What’s Ahead…Calendar Reminders
Check out what events are coming up in the Eastern Division and the NSP including the first Patroller Stress Awareness Forum Zoom meeting scheduled for March 13th. Click on the links for more details on a variety of events.
NSP History – Chapter 4 – A Memorable Day at the Races
In our last chapter, the death of Dole’s friend Frank Edison inspires Dole to study ski safety.
Mount Mansfield in Stowe, Vermont was selected as the venue for the 1938 National Downhill and Slalom Races. More accurately called an international ski race, racers would come from the United States, Germany, Austria, and France. Frank Griffin, the President of the Mount Mansfield Ski Club, asked Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole if he would form and lead a special ski patrol to serve as the safety and rescue team for the races…
Monthly Stress Awareness Zoom Forum Starts March 13
Want to learn more about stress awareness and patroller wellness? The Patroller Stress Awareness Team (PSAT) will begin hosting monthly zoom forums to promote stress injury education offered to all Eastern Division patrollers. Starting March 13, 2024 at 7 pm, a recurring zoom forum will be held the second Wednesday of each month.
• Learn about patroller stress & wellness.
• Network & share ideas with colleagues.
• Discuss topics with PSAT, Region & Division Leadership.
If you have any questions, please contact Melinda Mingus, MD, Eastern Division Safety Team Advisor and Eastern Division Patroller Stress Awareness Advisor.
2024 Women’s Program Events Schedule
Once again this year, the Eastern Division Women’s Program has a variety of events happening across the Division. Whether you are a long-time patroller wanting to improve your skills, a candidate looking to learn new skills, or even an aspiring instructor, all women patrollers are welcome to attend one of these upcoming programs.
Events Around the Division
Women-specific groups will be available in the following Patroller Schools (check out www.patrollerschool.org for more details)
2024-2025 Eastern Division Women’s Program Scholarship
We are happy to announce that once again this year, the Eastern Division Women’s Program will be sponsoring three $300 scholarships for women patrollers to attend an Eastern Division Patroller School or Women’s Clinic. In memory of Western Appalachian Patroller Deborah Stitt, the scholarship was established to provide more women the opportunity to attend a Patroller School or Women’s Clinic and support the development of leadership skills within the NSP.
Applications are being accepted through March 15, 2024.
Schedule Announced for Patroller Celebration
Excitement is building for the first Eastern Alumni and Patroller celebration at Mount Snow Ski Resort, February 11-16, 2024. The Eastern Division Alumni Advisors have announced the schedule of events for the week, as well as updated information about lodging and lift tickets.
Schedule:
Sunday, Feb 11
Welcome Get Together at Harriman’s Pub, 5 pm
Dinner at Harriman’s Pub, 6 pm
Monday, Feb 12
Breakfast at Grand Country Deli, Main Base Lodge, 8 am
Skiing and riding at mountain tour at base of Grand Summit Express, 9 am…
Region Alumni Day Schedule 2024
Nearly every region conducts at least one alumni day each season. These include a free or reduced price lift ticket, skiing or riding together and some kind of social time like a lunch or post skiing refreshments. Here is the latest on those scheduled for the 2024 season…
Engaging Our Mountain Children with Safety
Children love our Safety Team tent and our stickers, but what they seem to enjoy most is being engaged and challenged about the sport they love. Whether it is skiing or snowboarding, it’s not hard to sense how much they take pride in learning and knowing the safety practices that go along with the sport.
At a recent safety event, the children engaged in creating a safety chain…
Beyond the Numbers: Your Input on Stress Awareness Impact
The Patroller School online course, Stress Injury Preparation for Patrollers or SIPP, launched in September and profiled in the December issue of Trail Sweep, has had a greater than anticipated impact both in terms of response and reaction.
Response
Since the course was launched in September, more than 150 patrollers and mountain hosts have requested access to it. Granted this isn’t a viral number but, for Patroller School, it’s quite significant.
Flexibility Exercises for Skiing
Staying injury-free throughout the ski season requires a proper stretching program. Here are some stretching exercises that doctors from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons believe to be a good general set of flexibility exercises for skiers of all ages.
Flexibility is a key component to preventing injury. Stretching before athletic activity helps prepare the muscles for exercise. Stretching after exercise has proven to be even more important for preventing injury. For maximum benefit, skiers should stretch each of the major lower body muscle groups before and after sporting activity. The exercises below provide options for stretching those large muscle groups.
NSP History – Chapter 3 – Minnie Dole’s Injury is the Inspiration
<<< In our last chapter, Minnie Dole was injured in a ski accident so severely that they thought he might never walk again, let alone ski.
While still on crutches and convalescing from his broken leg earned on the Toll Road in Stowe in 1936, Minnie Dole’s good friend and ski companion, Franklin Edson III, came to visit. Frank informed Minnie that The ASCNY had asked him to round out a race team to compete at an interclub meet that was to be held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Races at this time were truly “downhill” races, with no speed control sections or gates…
In Memoriam – Harlan “Sonny” Davis
We are heartbroken to announce the death of Harlan “Sonny” Davis, age 71 of Portland, Maine on Thursday, December 7, 2023. Sonny had a 45-year tenure at Pleasant Mountain and served 17 years as Ski Patrol Director. He served with the Navy Seals for six years before moving to Bridgton.
Division YAP Summit Announcement
Watch the video and spread the news to your fellow YAPs and their parents!
Click read more to access my video holiday message.
Watch for details coming soon on the YAP Events page of PatrollerSchool. The YAP Summit fills up fast, so don’t wait. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, watching for registration to open. Save the dates and start planning for the 2024 YAP Summit at Smugglers’ Notch, March 8th to 12th.
2023 Memorial Fund Scholarship Award Winners
2023 Awards Review
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 2023, 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.
Mid-Week Avalanche Level 2 Course Scheduled for Smugglers’ Notch
The Avalanche team is attempting to work within our winter schedule. If you have not noticed, we have lost a week or two at the end of our season. The snowpack is not as deep as it once was. We also have an increasing population that is heading into the backcountry and our programs are requiring more avalanche training.
So our team is trying something new – a mid-week program at Smugglers’ Notch. We have no idea if this will work for our members, but we have had several requests for it. So you asked and we
So You Want To Be An NSP Instructor
Do you want to be an instructor, or know someone else who does? We in the Eastern Division are always looking for good instructors. The process is not difficult but can seem confusing to many patrollers. Becoming an instructor consists of taking the Instructor Development Course (see below) and mentoring with a qualified instructor in the discipline you want to teach. The disciplines include Outdoor Emergency Care, Outdoor Emergency Transportation, Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, Bike Patrol, and even Instructor Development itself. The mentoring phase is a very important part of the process of becoming an instructor. You will learn valuable tips and techniques for making your lessons impactful and successful.
The Eastern Division Bike Program
As of the fall of 2023, the Eastern Division is working to develop other opportunities for our members, including working on developing its bike program. With bike patrollers and bike hosts serving their community in other areas, this brings considerable visibility to what we do as part of NSP. This provides an opportunity to get more individuals involved in patrolling, renewing the organization, and providing a service to a developing sport.
