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.
OET Patroller School Schedule Announced
The 2024 Patroller School schedule has been posted on the Eastern Division’s EVENT website, along with many other training events. Please use it to find division-based educational events. The four programs that actively utilize Patroller School are:
Outdoor Emergency Transportation offers training weekend events
Avalanche Program offers online and weekend courses
Mountain Travel & Rescue offers a variety of online and weekend courses
Patroller Stress Preparedness offers a self-paced online course for individuals
The concept of offering high-level training opportunities taught by Division staff Instructors originated with Outdoor Emergency Transportation (OET) twenty years ago
Two New Certified Members and the First One-Year Candidacy in 27 Years
The first article of the season for the Certified team is an opportunity for the newest members to thank all who have helped, influenced, and driven their hard work and determination. Certified has a three-year completion window, so hard work is mandatory, travel is necessary, and help is always appreciated.
Each year, I have the pleasure of presenting newly minted Certified members their pins and numbers. This takes place at the end of the annual exam at our banquet. This past season, the Certified team added two new members to our ranks: Kevin Hartka, #859, and Jessie Miller, #860.
Of note – Jessie Miller #860 is a legacy Certified member; her father is Dave Ronald #171. Unfortunately, Dave is no longer with us, but the Elk Mountain Certified team members presented Jessie with her father’s pin. In addition, Jessie Miller completed her Certified candidacy in one year. It has been 27 years since the team has had a member complete all components in one season.
Congratulations to both, and please go to the Program News section and take some time to read about their Certified Journey found at Kevin and Jessie.
A Certified Journey – A Personal History
It had been five years since I first sat at a seat at the certified annual banquet dinner. Five years since I entered into the certified program, drawn to the group of passionate patrollers and their camaraderie, and this was my third and last test year.
It was a long road of hard studying, training, and stressful, sleepless nights, broken by two years of COVID cancelations that stole my wind and faded my memories of my first year such that my second felt much like my first. But this was it; it all came down to this last year. I had to make it happen.
Though I felt well prepared and anxious to complete the three modules I had left, the thought of going down that road again began to feel awfully daunting.
A Certified Journey – Following In My Father’s Footsteps
Growing up in a patrol family, first on, last off is what we did. I first heard the phrase “train to be above the bar” as a child, listening to my dad’s conversations about Ski and Toboggan training. Later I heard it as a patroller preparing for my own Senior and Trainer Evaluator exams. As I considered the goal of Certified, I knew the bar would be higher; I would need to train harder than ever to be above it. I also knew this would also be an emotional journey for me. Although my dad, Dave Ronald Certified #171, has been gone for more than 20 years, his coaching and mentorship left a lasting impact on many patrollers; quite the legacy to follow.
I set out on a mission…
Introducing the NSP Eastern Division Patroller Stress Awareness (PSA) Program
The Patroller Stress Awareness Team (PSAT), led by Melinda Mingus, MD, is a team of highly dedicated and experienced professionals, including those in healthcare and mental health. Working together with the Safety and Medical programs, PSAT also collaborates with the NSP Wellness Task Force to help develop a national initiative on patroller well-being.
Our mission is to provide and promote continuous physical, mental and emotional well-being for our patrollers, candidates and staff, and to support the NSP Statement of Intent on Well-Being: “National Ski Patrol is committed to creating and supporting a culture of wellness, safety and resilience for all our members and those whom we serve. Honoring NSP core values, we will provide our community with the awareness, leadership, guidance, education and…
Stress Awareness. Don’t Be Blindsided, Be Ready!
I still wake up from time to time wondering what’s happened to John. He probably doesn’t remember me, but I’ll never forget him and that night while sweeping the mountain 17 years ago when I found him in the trees off the side of the trail.
He was wedged like a folded multi-tool between two trees, unresponsive, with very shallow breathing and a barely detectable pulse. I called in to send everything to my location and to put the helicopter on standby.
It still replays in my mind . . .
5 Common Mistakes When Writing NSP Awards
Awards are a great way to recognize our patrollers for their outstanding performance and dedication. Yet, many patrols either don’t have an awards advisor or don’t submit awards because they find the award process daunting. Making these 5 mistakes are the biggest source of frustration to patrol awards advisors, especially new advisors.
1. Waiting until the last minute – The process of writing an NSP award application can be intimidating. It’s easy to put it off until the last minute. Awards have their busy…
NSP History – Chapter 1 – The Birth of the National Ski Patrol
The sound of the biplane echoed off the valley walls as the powerful seven-cylinder radial engine drove the propeller through the air currents coming off the mountain. Those on the ground paid little attention. They had seen this biplane before. If they had looked up, they would have noticed that the second seat, which was usually empty, was occupied today, and the skis that were usually tied to the struts were missing. It was 1939, and things at the head of the west branch of the Little River near Stowe, Vermont, were about to change, and those changes would shape the course of NSP history.
For the very few paying attention, the change could have been predicted.
