Laurel Summit Nordic Celebrates 50th
Laurel Summit Nordic Ski Patrol celebrated its 50th Anniversary on Saturday, April 26, with a gathering at its warming hut at Laurel Mountain in Western Pennsylvania. As the first Nordic ski patrol in the Western Appalachian Region, it had a lot to celebrate. A nice crowd of current and former patrollers, mountain hosts, and winter volunteers swapped stories and shared memories.
Ann Rahn was one of the patrol’s early members and key in keeping it going. Now retired from patrolling, Ann tells this story of the patrol’s history.
Ann started, “The two patrollers who started our patrol were Laurel Mountain alpine patrollers – David Schaeffer and Bob Murray. David and I were Nordic patrollers at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. We brought back the first rescue sled designed for tracked trails.
“There is a plaque on the wall of the warming hut that recognizes Bob Ache, the Pennsylvania State Park forester, when our patrol came into existence. The patrol got a grant from the Mellon Foundation to build a patrol hut. We wanted to put it just down the road from the entrance to the alpine ski area. Bob totally supported this location and built a warming hut for the public right next door on forestry land. He didn’t ask for a dime to put a building up. He provided us with bathroom facilities, although it was a pretty primitive port-o-john with a flush pump and a light bulb to keep it warm.
“Our patrol always had a wonderful relationship with the forester. He built the warming hut we enjoy today to the patrol’s specifications. They obviously gave us a lot better bathroom, and they also pay the electricity and telephone bills. Our current forester has been instrumental in creating the brochure that we use to publicize not just our Nordic ski area but Laurel Highlands and Laurel Ridge Nordic areas nearby.
“This is one of the few patrols I know of anywhere with more instructors than patrollers. If you don’t teach CPR or OEC, you teach mountaineering, avalanche, or Nordic skills. This is how it’s always been, and that was the guidance from the original patrol directors.
“They felt very strongly that it was OK to be a patroller for the first couple of years, but after that, you needed to do more to give back. If you didn’t want to aspire to be a senior, you needed to work towards being an instructor of some discipline. Back in the beginning, when we used to share our CPR and first aid training with Laurel Mountain alpine patrollers every year, the Nordic patrol would bring the instructors, and the alpine patrol would provide the facilities and the equipment.
“Not too many years ago, this patrol had a major downsizing to only three patrollers. The Winter Volunteers Program was started so the patrollers could get out on the trails while still having the warming hut staffed.
“When we needed to update our first aid equipment, former patrol director Andy Scott got a significant grant from Somerset and Westmoreland tourism bureaus, which allowed us to buy the AED and new backboards. And because many of our patrollers have contacts with hospitals, ambulances, and rescue crews, we can keep our equipment top-notch and up-to-date.
“We initiated pre-OEC Refreshers to help our patrollers be better prepared for the annual OEC refreshers and be less apprehensive about demonstrating their skills. Our Mountain Hosts are an integral part of our safety program. We may have been the first Nordic patrol to initiate this program and to utilize them as on-the-trail first responders.”
Ann could not ski this past winter due to recent shoulder surgery, but she plans to be back on the trails next season.
