Types of Patrollers

We do not differentiate between paid and volunteer patrollers, as the Mt Lemmon Ski Patrol is comprised mainly of volunteer patrollers. The duties of patrollers are not broken down by pay status, instead by NSP designation. There are two designations for patrollers: auxiliary and basic. Auxiliary and basic patrollers are trained in Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC); however auxiliary patrollers are not qualified to preform on-the-hill emergency transportation. Auxiliary and basic patrollers are equal in all other regards.

Prior to becoming a basic or auxiliary patroller you will be a candidate. The only requirements of candidates is that you have skied with a member of the membership committee (who has approved of your ski/snowboarding ability) and that you are willing to commit to the following.

Requirements

Ski or Boarding skills

To be accepted as a basic candidate you must be able "to get anywhere on the mountain."  You do not have to be an amazing skier but we do need to know that you can get to an injured individual if you need to.

Here are some of the skills you should know:

Skiing

• Skidding turns
• Carving turns
• Falling leaf
• Static direction change (jump turn)

Medical

OEC

All patrollers take the Outdoor Emergency Care course (OEC) and must refresh it yearly. This course is a full semester course. It typically runs five months (beginning in January) and is 4 hours two days a week. The yearly refreshers are typically one day and are held twice, once on a Saturday and once on a Sunday. As OEC is a NSP program there are opportunities to take the refresher in other cities.

Courses can be found on the NSP's course search page.

CPR

All patrollers must maintain a yearly CPR certification. This CPR certification must be either: CPR for the professional rescuer from The American Red Cross, or CPR for the Healthcare Provided from The American Heart Association. Although these certifications are good for multiple years, NSP requires them to be renewed yearly.

On-The-Hill

Daily

While on the ski hill patrollers have many duties. Our may task is to care for injured guests, both on and off the hill. When we hear of an injury we are expected to immediately respond and care for the individual(s) as needed. We handle minor cuts and bruises to serious injuries that require advanced medical services including air-evacs.

We are the first on the hill (8am) and the last to leave. When the day begins we sweep the hill, we look for anything on the slopes that may provide a safety problem. We must ensure that everyone can have a fun and safe time on the hill. We must report any problems, such as missing tower pads to down trees. At the end of the day we sweep the hill again, to ensure that everyone is safely of the hill.

Chair Evacuation

We are also trained to preform chair evacuations. If a chair lift should ever become unusable, we will be called upon to safely evacuate its users. We train at preforming chair evacuations yearly. This is another yearly requirement for all of our patrollers. We also encourage patrollers to self-evac from chairs.  To do this patrollers practice during meetings and at the yearly chair evac training.

Duty Days

Patrollers are required to sign-up for three duty days per month. These days are on a first-come first-served basis.  So once a day is full, you will have to pick another day.

Meetings

We hold monthly meetings in the winter months. The meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month and are at the SARAH house. Members are required to attend all meetings.

Costs

Yearly

In 2010 dues were:

In addition to yearly dues, new patrollers must purchase their own jackets, medical packs, rope, and medical supplies. When a patrollers uses supplies at ski valley, they will be replaced from the patrol's supplies. NSP is a 501(c) organization, so these purchases are tax-deductible.

The OEC course must also be paid by the candidate. In 2010 this was $350.

Contact Us

If you would like you join or have more question please come by one of our meetings and say hi, or contact the patrol representative.  His/her contact information is on the contact page.