Patroller Spotlight
New Patroller Event in Park City
Last Tracks, a patroller event hosted by Central Division, March 26-28, 2026, is being held at Park City. This gathering from all divisions is open to all patrollers. Registration closes March 2, 2026.
Strengthening the Communication Chain
In mountain rescue, the moments between injury and definitive care can determine outcomes. The Regional Mountain Trauma System (RMTS) was founded to strengthen every link in that chain. From the ski slopes to the trauma bay we work to connect ski patrols, EMS providers, and trauma centers through shared communication, education, and feedback.
RMTS grew from the recognition that mountain trauma presents unique challenges. Response often begins miles from the nearest road, in terrain where evacuation is slow and resources are limited. Once a patient reaches the hospital, vital field details can easily be lost. RMTS closes that gap by creating a seamless continuum of care, ensuring that ski patrollers on-scene expertise directly informs hospital treatment—and that trauma center insights return to the mountain.
A Time to be Thankful
Julie Bowman-Tuck’s Patrol, Cathe Neuberger-Smugglers’ Notch, SANTA, Rachel Tobler-Smugglers’ Notch
It was a casual late morning tour up The Cog rail line on Mount Washington. We made our way up we traveling in pairs, exchanging stories, talking about past adventures and how we ended up patrolling. There was a rotation of the pairings and who lead the charge, so we all got to talk to each other. After all there is so much to learn from one another.
We got up to the point where The Cog turns around in the winter, ate some snacks, and added some layers to continue up to Jacob’s Ladder. We chatted in a circle eating yummy chocolate treats and makeshift sandwich wraps. Santa came up to us with a bag over his shoulder. Jokingly one of us said “you got any goodies in there?”
History of the Avalanche Award
The Eastern Division Roger H. Damon Jr. Avalanche Award was developed and first presented in 2013 in accordance with criteria from NSP’s Montgomery Atwater National Avalanche Award, to recognize Eastern Division’s NSP members, or non-members, who have made outstanding and continuing contributions to the Avalanche Program with significant division impact. Examples of such contributions might fall under management, curriculum development, publication, scientific discovery, instruction, or any combination thereof.
Roger was the first recipient of this award in 2013 when he then had 67 years of service, including time served at Norwich University, Burke Mountain, and the Mount Washington Ski Patrols. Also, during his time in the military, Roger patrolled at a mountain in Austria where his interest in avalanche safety began.
Alumni Advice & Options
Allan Miller
Eastern Division Alumni Advisor
We Know the options, so you don’t need to…until you do! For most of us, when we join the National Ski Patrol and choose the area where we want to work, we don’t think much about the future.
Life happens, and some situations may require you to seriously consider how to navigate them without leaving our organization. This is when you go directly to your patrol, region, or division alumni advisor to learn about your membership options. NSP offers several that can help you without requiring you to relinquish your OEC certification. It is our responsibility to work with you and your patrol director to establish a plan that works for you.
Liberty Mountain Ski Patrol Celebrates 60 Years
As the 2025-2026 ski season gets underway, the Liberty Mountain Ski Patrol (LMSP) marks a significant milestone: sixty years of dedicated service to the skiing community and the National Ski Patrol system.
From Oregon Ridge to Liberty Mountain
Their story begins around 1965 when patrollers from the then recently-closed Oregon Ridge Ski Area in Hunt Valley, Maryland, brought their expertise to a newly developed resort in the rolling hills of south-central Pennsylvania. Originally known as Charnita—named for developers Charles and Anita Rist—the ski area faced early financial challenges. When the resort went bankrupt in the early 1970s, those committed patrollers persevered.
In 1974, when Irv Naylor acquired the property and renamed it Ski Liberty, the patrol members took a defining step: they ratified bylaws to provide lasting structure and guidance, a measure that was truly ahead of its time. That formalization, now over fifty years old, created the foundation for an organization that would become a stalwart within the Eastern Division.
EPA Special Olympics Plane Pull Fundraiser
Bear Creek Ski Patrol/Mountain Host (Team BCMR) members participated in the 2025 Lehigh Valley Plane Pull fundraiser for Special Olympics Pennsylvania. Among those pulling for Team BCMR Mountain Host/Ski Patrol were Alison Hudak, Holly Krause, Roger Ritchi, and Chet Ochar.
Team BCMR finished in 2nd place for their division pulling 175,000 lbs. of pure plane (FedEx cargo plane at Lehigh Valley International Airport) the designated distance (about 25 ft) in 8.12 seconds.
Teams across the Lehigh Valley participated and raised a total of $57,000 for Special Olympics. Team BCMR was a new member of the event this year. Just goes to show Ski Patrollers and Mountain Hosts are not just pretty faces on the hill, they possess Superhero strength.
From Crash to Care
In mountain rescue, the moments between injury and definitive care can determine outcomes. The Regional Mountain Trauma System (RMTS) was founded to strengthen every link in that chain. From the ski slopes to the trauma bay we work to connect ski patrols, EMS providers, and trauma centers through shared communication, education, and feedback.
RMTS grew from the recognition that mountain trauma presents unique challenges. Response often begins miles from the nearest road, in terrain where evacuation is slow and resources are limited. Once a patient reaches the hospital, vital field details can easily be lost. RMTS closes that gap by creating a seamless continuum of care, ensuring that ski patrollers’ on-scene expertise directly informs hospital treatment—and that trauma center insights return to the mountain.
Reflections from Pacific Northwest
Before boots hit the colorful fallen leaves on the ground at Pike Glades, AMN25 (Avalanche, Mountaineering, Nordic) instructor participants were already deep into the work. The Annual AMN Instructor Refresher was successfully hosted at Pike Glades, NH September 25-28, 2025, and provided 80+ instructors with the opportunity to hone their instructional skills together in this rugged outdoor center. Avalanche, Mountain Travel & Rescue, and Nordic instructors and instructor candidates worked together to elevate learning.
Patroller School’s online AMN curriculum laid the groundwork — four content areas, each building on last year’s AMN24, designed not just to inform but to prepare. This wasn’t fluff. The material was practical, mountain-professional grade, and built for the field. By the time participants arrived, they weren’t just reviewing — they were ready to coach and be coached. AMN’s flipped-classroom model isn’t just a clever phrase; it’s a shift in how we instruct and model effective outdoor instruction.
We Can Only Hope!
