It’s that time of year again to plan your summer/fall patrol activities. Two of our favorites are back this year: Certified Boot Camp and Enhanced Patroller School. Both promise new adventures, team-building opportunities, and activities that will definitely stretch your skills and thought processes.
Last year’s Boot Camp events included fundamental first aid, mass casualty and triage skill development, new and creative approaches to lift evacuation skills, mountain operations, tower climbing dos and don’ts, outdoor risk management, avalanche fundamentals, and low-angle rescue. Our event was hosted at Holiday Mountain Ski Area in the Southern New York Region. It provided unique insights into what it takes to “open” an abandoned ski resort. Thanks to Mike Taylor, a fellow patroller and new owner of the resort, for being a gracious host and a brave entrepreneur.
Highlights from last year’s Boot Camp include:
• A Friday night lift evacuation exercise with all participants assigned a role in a simulated lift evac. The players included state and local officials, mountain management, resort operations manager, lift maintenance, and patrol. The scenario was presented to the participants through role-playing. All in attendance gained valuable experience in understanding the roles and responsibilities associated with lift evacuation. We all gained new appreciation for all the players involved in a lift evacuation.
• An ORM session led by certified patroller and mountain manager, Ted Davis, from Ski Windham, and
• A discussion of certified credentials held late on a hot day in the river, allowing for a refreshing discussion of the topic.
2025 Boot Camp
This year’s Certified Boot Camp will be hosted by Ski Roundtop, a Vail resort located just south of Harrisburg, PA. Activities will include a ropes course, camping by the lake, paintball opportunities, and unique insights into the operations of a Vail Resort, as well as:
• Your “normal” OEC, LE, LAR, and Avalanche activities.
• Friday night will include a visit from a local taco truck vendor.
• The usual chefs will be in the house, including Steve Suomala and Jimmy O’Connor, and their famous breakfast burritos.
• There will be a special visit from past certified chair and Elk Mountain patroller Billy Jordan. He will be catering the Saturday night potluck with his world-famous barbecue.
• If you want to make it a long weekend, Hershey Park is only 20 minutes away and is an awesome amusement park.
• Details for the Certified Boot Camp are:
̶ Ski Roundtop, Harrisburg, PA
̶ Visit patrollerschool.org for more detailed information and upcoming registration
̶ August 15-17
̶ Arrive Friday from 4-6
̶ Depart Sunday 2-3
The Genesee Valley Region has set the date and location for its popular Enhanced Patroller School. It will be held September 12-14, 2025, at Swain Resort. This great summer training event allows patrollers to work on various patroller skills, including many aspects of the OEC program, chairlift evacuation techniques, low-angle rescue methods, and rescue knot tying. The weekend culminates with a simulated mass casualty incident on Sunday morning, bringing together all the skills reviewed during the previous two days. Many of the skills covered are part of the NSP Certified Patroller Program.
Last year’s event, also at Swain, was attended by 53 participants and 12 gurus whose task was to help guide the various stations. These patrollers came from 23 patrols, 12 regions, nine states, and had a combined total of over 800 years of patrolling experience. Additionally, several outside agencies also participated in the simulated mass casualty Incident on Sunday, including:
Thanks to our Helpers!
Allegany County Office of Emergency Management
Alfred Station Fire Company
Canaseraga Fire Company
Dansville Ambulance Company
Medical Transport Service, Inc.
Canaseraga Ambulance
Fillmore Ambulance
Nunda Ambulance
Allegany County DC 4
Jeff Baker and Tom Wallin have been organizing these training events since 2011. Jim Nickerson and Joe Menichino have been planning and working since the beginning. From year to year, they bring in additional patrollers from around the division to help act as guides and gurus because they have expertise in the different modules they are planning. This school has always been a low-pressure, hands-on, try stuff, get your hands dirty (or bloody), and ask questions type of event.
They have always wanted it accessible to patrollers of any level, including candidates, basic patrollers, senior candidates, and senior and certified patrollers. They want everyone to have fun, learn stuff, and take ideas back to their home patrols. With patrollers coming from around the division, as you sit around the fire pit talking at night, you get an interchange of ideas and techniques from many other patrollers.
Jeff Baker patrols at Bristol Mountain, Tom Wallin and Joe Menichino at Swain Resort, and Jim Nickerson is an alumnus patroller from Hunt Hollow Resort. To register for this event, go to NSP’s Center for Learning, browse the catalog, and search for Patroller Enrichment Seminar/Genesee Valley/Swain Resort.
The GURUS
2024 Enhanced Patroller School Staff – from L-R; Jonathan Smith-Pittsford Ambulance, Glenn Becker-Bristol Patrol Director/Penfield Ambulance, Jeff Baker-Bristol Patrol/Pittsford Ambulance/Lifetime Certified, Jim Nickerson-Lifetime Certified, Joe Menichino-Swain & Bristol Patrol/Lifetime Certified, Jesse Merdak-Pittsford Ambulance, Tom Wallin-Swain Patrol/Lifetime Certified, Steve LaDue-Hunt Hollow Patrol/CHS Ambulance, Rob Armet-Windham Patrol/Lifetime Certified.
Peter, Becky, Vinny, RJ, and Certified Program Chair Bill Zink
The Eastern Division recently held our annual Certified exam and banquet at Jay Peak with over 118 participants lying in the snow as OEC patients and observing our eight candidates show their stuff in skiing, toboggan skills, lift evacuation, low-angle rescue, avalanche, and outdoor risk management. Of course, Jay Peak delivered an excellent venue, terrific skiing, and amazing and challenging terrain. Four of the eight candidates were successful. They include Vinny Romano #870, Becky Rubin #871, Peter Buss #872, and RJ Bouchard #873.
A heartfelt congratulations to all four of these candidates. Vinny, Becky, and Peter were in their third and final year to be successful. RJ was in his second year. These new Certified Patrollers represent the Eastern Division well. They hail from Western Pennsylvania, Western New York, Connecticut, and Vermont resorts. These new members are already in leadership positions across the division, and we look forward to seeing their contributions in the future.
The Certified Program is a performance-based leadership program that provides an opportunity for all patrollers to learn and be tested on critical patroller skills and knowledge. The program history dates back almost 60 years, when the national chair requested some East Coast patrollers develop a leadership program that would span both the volunteer and professional patroller organizations and skill sets.
Upcoming events include a summer boot camp in the EPA region in August. Specifically, Vail Resort Ski Roundtop in Harrisburg, PA, will host us from August 15-17. The Enhanced Patroller School will also be offered again at Swain Ski Resort in Genesee Valley Region on the weekend of September 12 – 14. Both events will challenge the instructors and participants in all their skills and offer great camaraderie and adventure. Next year’s exam will be at Sugarloaf, Maine, in March 2026.
Again, congratulations to our newest Certified Members!
The Eastern Division has so much to offer patrollers. Take advantage
of events that are currently listed on the Eastern Division Calendar.
For information, go to the calendar and click on the event, go to the Patroller School website, or contact the Program Advisor.
1/8 Patroller Stress Awareness Forum, ZOOM
1/11-12 Nordic Fest, Highland Forest, Fabius, NY
1/17/25 Certified Pre-Test, Sugarloaf, ME
1/18-19 Sugarloaf Patroller School, ME
1/24-26 Level 1 Avalanche, Whiteface, NY
1/25-26 Elk Mountain Patroller School, PA
1/25-26 WISP Patroller School, MD
1/31 Certified Pre-Test, Killington, VT
2/1-2 Killington Patroller School, Killington, VT
2/3-5 Level 1 Avalanche, Smugglers’ Notch, VT
2/8-9 Waterville Valley Tele/Snowboard School, NH
2/8-9 Gore Mountain Patroller School, NY
2/8-9 Plattekill Patroller School, NY
2/12 Patroller Stress Awareness Forum, ZOOM
3/7-9 Level 1 Avalanche, Mt. Washington, NH
3/7-9 Winter Division Officers’ Meeting
3/7-10 Young Adult Patroller Summit, Smugglers’ Notch, VT10
3/12 Patroller Stress Awareness Forum, ZOOM
3/13-16 Certified Annual Exam & Meeting, Jay Peak, VT (invitation only)
3/31 Memorial Fund Scholarship Applications Due
Happy fall almost winter fellow patrollers. As the Chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program, I am pleased to report that we remain active in developing the division’s program for the 2024/2025 ski season. Your team of certified patrollers participates in every aspect of NSP from active year-round patrolling to being on our National Board. It is hard to account for the manhours that go into running the NSP and its programs.
One might question the sanity of it all. In the end, our job is to assist our employers and ski areas to provide a safe and fun experience for all their guests and to make the work environment safe for our fellow employees. The behind-the-scenes work does not start and stop with the snow!
As of this writing, we have wrapped up both our 12th annual Certified Boot Camp and Enhanced Patroller School. This year’s Boot Camp was held August 16-18 at Holiday Mountain Ski and Fun Park in Monticello, NY. The resort was recently purchased by a fellow patroller who graciously hosted us for the weekend. Check out this up-and-coming resort in the Southern Catskills, 85 miles North of NYC.
Given that we were hosted by a ski resort, we had access to a host of real-life activities that go into the summer months of a resort. Ongoing revenue-generating activities, chairlift maintenance, snowmaking equipment upgrades, and trail clearing to name a few. This gave way to much discussion about Outdoor Risk Management and the preseason thought that needs to go into making our resorts safer before the snow flies.
Taking advantage of being at an active resort, we focused Saturday on lift evacuation planning and different scenarios that may present themselves. Of great interest to our resorts is addressing the situation of an unseated guest. There are lots of scenarios that may present themselves to the mountain with unseated guests. Things we discovered included:
What are the conditions?
Where does it occur along the chairlift – bottom, top, middle?
Stop the chair or keep it running?
Tools available to rescuers – nets, bean bags, ladders, ropes, blankets, tarps?
Why is the person unseated?
What is the age and physical condition of the person?
What is mountain protocol and how is it coordinated and/or communicated between different departments?
Overall situational awareness?
What are best practices and how long do you have to react?
These are only the tip of the iceberg. We decided to recreate an unseated passenger scenario. We had an 8-year-old, 12-year-old, and 50-year-old hang from the chair with their hands. All wore gloves, did not have ski gear or ski equipment on (therefore holding much less weight), and were hanging on the metal edge of the chairlift, not the seat. Therefore, they could grip a 3” piece of metal tubing.
How long can they hang on detailing how much time any rescuer has to react? After three different attempts, each child could hang on for just over 3 minutes; the adult, just under 2 minutes. This was in a controlled environment. They were supported by ropes with a net, no ski gear, and an 80-degree sunny day.
The conclusion is that the resort departments need to have a communication and rescue plan in place before anything like this happens with some guidelines for lift operators, patrol, and ski school (other departments as well) on how quickly those 2-3 minutes will go and what you should do about it given a variety of scenarios.
We hope you take this information back to your resort, discuss what to do if you have an unseated passenger, and ensure that the plan is communicated to all departments!
Brant Maley and DiamondBack Covers Team Up to Honor First Responders
The team at DiamondBack Covers proudly expresses their deep gratitude to first responders. Their dedication and courage inspire us all, and we’re honored to recognize the heroes who keep our communities safe.
They produced a video featuring Certified Patroller Brant Maley from Roundtop Mountain Resort. He has worn many hats over the years and is currently a 24-year veteran serving as a police officer in Penbrook Borough, PA.
Brant joined NSP in 1989 and was awarded Certified #523 in 1998. He is an OEC, OET, Lift Evacuation, Low-angle Rescue, and Outdoor Risk Management instructor and is a Lifetime member of NSP. He was awarded National Appointment #10142 in 2005 and has a Meritorious Service Award and five Yellow Merit Stars.
Follow Brant through this journey. Check out this great video!
Join us at Holiday Mountain Ski & Fun Park in Monticello, NY, for a gathering of like-minded Ski Patrollers in a rustic camping environment, all looking to learn about the Certified program and enhance or broaden their patroller skill set. The goal this season is “deep dive into lift evac.” The certified program modules that will be covered at this event will be:
Lift Evacuation
Outdoor Risk Management
Avalanche
Low Angle Rescue
OEC Assessment, Skill & MCI Scenarios
OVERALL AGENDA
Boot Camp provides:
Friday — 4:00-6:00 pm – Arrival & Camp Set-up
Friday — 7:00 pm Meeting
Breakfast and Lunch on Saturday and Sunday
Saturday is BOOT CAMP training Day
Dinner Saturday Night
Bonfire — FUN
ENHANCED PATROLLER SCHOOL
SWAIN MOUNTAIN, NY – Friday, September 13 – Sunday, September 15
This event is low pressure — you can learn, have fun, and network with other patrollers from all around the division. It is open to any currently registered member of NSP, candidate through Certified. It is a hands-on, get dirty, get bloody, play with different gear event. Typical included modules include:
Lift evacuation
Low angle rope rescue,
OEC assessment and skill building,
ORM discussions,
An MCI drill with outside EMS agencies.
Patroller School provides:
Great food all three days,
An easy-going, no pressure learning environment,
Looking at many different ways to meet an objective.
What you need to bring:
An open mind,
Gear that you would like to show off or work with,
Your first aid pack with gloves and supplies.
Rough agenda:
Friday — 1:00 pm – Arrival, registration, and camp set up
Friday — 3:00-6:00 pm – Knot tying and open topics
Friday evening — Fire pit discussion
Saturday — Module station rotations
Saturday evening — MCI discussions and planning and ifre pit discussions
Sunday — MCI drill and feedbac from multiple points of view
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. They were both young men in high school. Once the dust settled, one boy lay on the ground unconscious, and the other was walking around in a dazed state.
I unloaded the chair, had the lift operator radio in the event and location, and made my way to the scene. Both patients survived. One was flown by helicopter to a nearby trauma center and the other went with ALS. I arrived home at midnight, February 14, 1995.
That day impacted my life in so many ways. It set me on a course of perpetual learning. I never wanted to be the guy that didn’t know what to do when the poop hits the fan. Fast forward to 2024 and I am now newly elected chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program. I currently patrol at Ski Whitetail, a Vail resort; Timberline Mountain in Davis, West Virginia (Southern Division); and as a part-time Pro at The Hermitage in southern Vermont. I love the sport of skiing. I love ski patrolling. And I love the friends that I have made in the industry.
I look forward to the next several years. I want to share the impact the industry and the Certified program has had on my life. The Journey to Certified is just that. A journey. It is a worthy journey no matter the outcome.
I am still married to the same woman as I was on that fateful Valentine’s night in 1995. While she can’t say she loves skiing and ski patrol as much as I do, she will say she does love the people and what it has meant to me and our life.
To learn more about our program, consider participating in one of our two summer/fall events, a “Summer Certified Boot Camp” scheduled for August 16-18 at Holiday Mountain Ski Area in Monticello, NY or an “Enhanced Patroller School” at Swain Resort the weekend of September 13-15th. Go to www.patrollerschool.org for registration details and information about these summer programs. See www.Nspeast.org/certified for details on the Certified Program.
Happy Summer fellow Ski Patrollers. As the new chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program, I am humbled by the outpouring of support our members offer the Eastern Division. I participated in my first ever Eastern Division Spring Officers Meeting. My job was to report to the ED leadership team our accomplishments.
As I prepped for the meeting, I started reviewing what our accomplishments were for the year. Then it struck me that maybe it was time to refresh our fellow patrollers on what the Certified Program is all about. Below is an excerpt from a letter from the National Director of the NSP in 1964 and the directive which created the Certified Program as we know it today.
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 report read: “It is the desire of the paid patrolmen of the NSPS to continually strive for higher standards for all ski patrolmen. Hence, this Certified ski patrolmen program is instituted to give recognition to those who have devoted the extra time and effort to pursue a course of self-development beyond the minimum requirements of the senior ski patrolmen. This program is necessary for the NSPS to keep pace with the technological developments in the sport of skiing and to encourage ski patrolmen to better fulfill the ever-increasing demands and expectations of ski area management and the skiing public.”
The Eastern Division put together a committee of inspiring New England patrollers, which included George Wesson Jr., Rudy Carlson, Wayne Doss, Dexter Galusha, and Casey Rowley 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.
First Certified Test
Two years later, during the 1967-68 season, the pilot program was launched. Thirty-four candidate applications were received. Only eight were accepted. Seven candidates showed up at Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire for the first ‘Certified’ Ski and Toboggan Exam. PSPA was asked for their help in administering the exam to help give credibility to the program for the professionals. The courses were long and challenging using the most difficult terrain Wildcat had to offer. All seven candidates participating were successful and were invited to the first ‘Certified’ First Aid Exam to be held at Killington in April 1968.
The first aid problems were challenging and realistic, many taken from actual accident reports of some of the most unusual or difficult accident scenarios New England Ski Areas had seen. In some scenarios the actual patients were asked to ‘relive’ their accidents by replaying the roles of patients during the exam. In addition to first aid skills, the candidates would be expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of patrol/management relationship and ski area operation knowledge.
Interviews were conducted for each candidate as if they were applying for a position of patrol leader at their mountain. In the early years of the program, the interviews were conducted by the actual owners and managers of the ski area. Questions concerning snowmaking and lifts, trail markings and grooming, staffing requirements and payroll, equipment needs and costs, mass casualty plans and risk management, legal and liability concerns, federal, state, and local laws and protocol would all be fair game. All seven candidates again passed this portion of the exam becoming the first NSPS ‘Certified’ Patrollers.
Today’s exam now consists of 10 modules (some modules have multiple components). The modules include Outdoor Emergency Care; Outdoor Emergency Transportation; Avalanche; Outdoor Risk Management; Lift Evacuation; and Low Angle Rescue. The exam takes three days to administer and is in March of each year. A successful candidate has three years to successfully pass all 10 modules. If not successful, you must start again.
To learn more about our program, consider participating in one of our two summer/fall events, a “Summer Certified Boot Camp” scheduled for August 16-18 at Holiday Mountain Ski Area in Monticello, NY or an “Enhanced Patroller School” at Swain Resort the weekend of September 13-15th.
Go to www.patrollerschool.org for registration details and information about these summer programs. See www.Nspeast.org/certified for details on the Certified Program. A special thanks to Peter Neefus for the history!
The Eastern Division has so much to offer patrollers. Take advantage
Happy fall almost winter fellow patrollers. As the Chair of the Eastern Division Certified Program, I am pleased to report that we remain active in developing the division’s program for the 2024/2025 ski season. Your team of certified patrollers participates in every aspect of NSP from active year-round patrolling to being on our National Board. It is hard to account for the manhours that go into running the NSP and its programs.
The team at 
