Eastern Division NSP's News Magazine
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Annual AMN Event
I hope everyone had a great summer and accomplished their goals. Now it’s time to go to the AMN Instructor Continuing Education Event, September 26-28. This year’s event will be held at Pike Glades, NH as we move these events around the division.
Instructors, instructor candidates, and interested patrollers wishing to get involved with Nordic, MTR, or Avalanche are always welcome at this event. This year’s registration will close on 9/22, allowing all attending to have time to complete the online material before they arrive.
The Nordic/Backcountry station will focus on navigation, using CalTopo, and plotting a waypoint on a paper map. The MTR station will focus on low angle rescue as we try to standardize our systems throughout all NSP programs. The Avalanche station will do transceiver searches and exam prep for L2 avalanche and Nordic Master transceiver tests.
Plus, this year they will introduce the Hypo Wrap, a backcountry technique to help keep your hypothermia or injured patient warm until more help arrives and transportation is complete.
MTR Program Update
All of you who are instructors and instructor candidates, along with those of you who are familiar with Avalanche, MTR, and/or Nordic/BC skills, and are interested in becoming an instructor in one of these programs:
This year’s Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic/Backcountry Instructor Refresher, best known as AMN2025, is being run September 27 & 28, 2025, at The Pike Glades in New Hampshire. Camping is available on-site, free of charge, beginning on Friday, September 26, 2025. Register on Patroller School for more details.
Also, National is beginning work on a hybrid MTR Level 1 course modeled on the Eastern Division’s hybrid MTR Level 1 course. The anticipated release date is March of 2026. There are three Eastern Division MTR ITs on the committee: Matt Karpinecz, Jeff Sargent, and me. The MTR Instructor Manual has been updated to align with the recently released “Mountaineering – Freedom of the Hills, 10th Edition,” which is used as the textbook for MTR Level 1 and Level 2 courses.
Awesome OET Events Planned
Yes, it’s very steep!
Patroller Schools have a rich history of providing patrollers the opportunity to learn from the best instructors, including Division Staff and Certified Patrollers. In fact, the Elk Mountain, Maine, and Killington Patroller Schools can trace their history back more than 30 years when they were founded by Certified Patrollers looking to share their expertise.
Patroller Schools are awesome opportunities for patrollers at all levels to grow their OET skills and enjoy the camaraderie of meeting fellow patrollers from outside their home mountains. Events will include Senior, Women’s, and Certified level training. Schools will also offer top level PSIA coaches to help hone your ski, snowboard, and tele technique.
Best Boot Camp Ever!
Brant Maley, certified #523 and Ski Roundtop patroller (a Vail Resort), and the staff of both the resort and the Certified Program delivered in August, what is being hailed as one of the best boot camps in the program’s history! The venue was outstanding; the participants were incredible, and the weather cooperated. Activities included a ropes course, fishing, camping, cookouts, firepit discussions, and an all-around good time. We had over 60 participants over the 2.5 day event. Industry experts participated in open, town-hall-type forums talking about lift evacuation and risk management.
YAP Summer Outing
July 24-27, young adults, past, present, and future, Eastern Division YAP and OEC supervisors, and the New Hampshire Region YAP Advisor gathered to take on the challenge of the mountain bike craze. We all met at the Country Aire Campground, where we set up a variety of stays, everything from the good old tent setup to what some would call Glamping (I prefer to call it staying in comfort and style). That night sitting around the campfire, we discussed our plans for the next few days. It was decided we would take on the challenge of Thunder Mountain Bike Park on Friday.
After a hearty breakfast on Friday, we loaded up the trucks with our bikes and headed over to Thunder Mountain. After signing the standard waivers, we donned personal safety gear and headed to the lifts. We were led by Jason Tamulen, the Eastern Division OEC Supervisor and bike patroller, to the top and after some discussion and planning we learned the motto Pre-ride, Re-ride, Free ride. No different than doing a trail check, warm-up lap, and then letting it rip.
Safety & Wellness Travel Team Wants to Visit You!
The Mission: The Eastern Division Safety & Wellness Team is offering live presentations to educate all about the importance of
stress awareness.
Why: Studies have shown that first responders who are educated and aware of the signs and symptoms of stress injury fare much better than those who are not. Our job is to care for your patrol members and to help support and retain them.
Memorial Scholarships Awarded
Harriet Frawley, Memorial/Scholarship Fund Advisor
Snowbound EXPO ’25
Winter is almost here — and we’re kicking it off in a big way at the Snowbound Expo in Boston, November 14-16. The National Ski Patrol will once again be front and center as an exhibitor, and we want you to be part of the action.
Snowbound isn’t just another trade show — it’s the ultimate preseason celebration of skiing and riding in New England. More than 20,000 snow lovers will pack the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center to meet their favorite athletes, check out the latest gear, and dream about the season ahead.
The lineup this year is stacked: Olympic champion Hannah Kearney, World Cup racer Alice Merryweather, snowboard legend Todd Richards, and the always-entertaining Donny Pelletier are just a few of the names drawing crowds. Add big brands like Nordica, Rossignol, K2, Salomon, and Fischer, plus resorts from Killington to Sugarloaf, and the excitement is nonstop.
10th Mountain Division
On June 26, 2025, the Eastern Division participated for the fifth consecutive year in Mountainfest at Fort Drum. Each year, the 10th Mountain Division opens to the public for an all-day open house on Division Hill and, on average, 10,000 people attend.
Highlights of the day included live demonstrations by the soldiers firing 155mm Howitzers, deploying the cannons by Blackhawk helicopters, mock firefights in both cold and warm weather gear, a live rock band, many vendors, and a multitude of food trucks.
Every year, the Eastern Division has staffed a booth with leaders from different programs to help explain the shared history of the 10th and NSP – and how this relationship continues to grow. We provided abbreviated CPR demos, knot tying demos, and handed out NSP promotional items.
Senior Aid Room Management Module (AR-MSP)
Many of you have heard of the ‘newly revived’ OEC Senior Aid Room Management Module. This program was initiated in 2018 but was never effectively launched in the Eastern Division. It is hoped that the information here will dispel some of the questions and concerns surrounding the course and promote momentum to establish a quality program in our division.
The Aid Room Management Module of the Senior Program (AR-MSP) was initially designed to offer a path to obtain NSP Senior for those individuals who would not be completing the OET portion of the Senior Program.
The Senior Aid Room Management Module is not a requirement to become an Alpine or Nordic/Backcountry Senior. It is, however, a requirement to become a Senior Patroller along with the OEC Module of the Senior Program (OECMSP) and four additional Senior Electives. Much, if not all, of the AR-MSP can potentially be completed virtually.
In Memoriam – Lowell ‘Bud’ Brooks, Jr.
Lowell S. “Bud” Brooks, Jr., 90, of Allendale, NJ, passed away on August 13, 2025, in Allendale, NJ. He was born in Kingston, New York, in 1934, alongside his identical twin brother, Lynn, to his parents, the late Margaret and Lowell S. Brooks, Sr.
He attended Kingston High School, where he was on the ski team and began his lifelong service with the National Ski Patrol. A graduate of Norwich University (1957) and later Fairleigh Dickinson University (MBA, cum laude, 1968), Bud served as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before beginning a distinguished career in engineering, information systems, and business management, retiring from Cytec Industries in 1999.
In 1963, Bud married Ellen Schutz, and together they raised two children, Lowell “Scott” and Amy, in Allendale, where they lived for over 50 years. Bud was a devoted husband and lovingly cared for Ellen in her final years, as she battled Alzheimer’s, until her passing in 2018.
