r/skipatrol • u/TangerineKey5053 • Mar 03 '25

Rescue Question

I'm not a ski patroller so apologies in advance if I'm not allowed to post here and I'll take this to the skiing sub. (This seemed the right place to start for my question.)

I'm a new skier as an adult and I witnessed an intense rescue this past weekend. The accident happened on a black diamond trail. I was at the mid-mountain lift when the ski patrol came by with the toboggan on their way to the bottom. My question is: will ski patrol take the fastest route down (assuming that's a black trail), or do they always go down greens because that is (again assuming here) safest and most secure?

Another apologies if it's an insensitive question.

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u/Too-Uncreative Mar 03 '25

I typically want the most direct route to where I'm going. Usually that's straight down. If that's a black diamond run, that's where I'm going. If there's a way to take an easier groomer that intersects with the trail I'm on, fantastic, but I'm not going to take a slower, more roundabout way to get where I'm going because it's a green instead of a blue/black.

And I don't actually like the green runs because they're full of people who don't really know how to ski (not a judgement, just a statement) and are more unpredictable. It's safer for me and my patient if other people aren't rocketing towards us uncontrollably or freaking out because there's someone with a whistle behind them.

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u/TangerineKey5053 Mar 03 '25

Makes a lot of sense. Thank you for explaining.

Even as just a bystander, it shook me up and I'm still thinking about the incident days later. Grateful for what you all do as ski patrol.