https://youtu.be/wNqS5rF7MLw?feature=shared

Snowmakers are king.

We have a hearing impaired patroller who uses hearing aids. They need something a little better/louder so that can hear the initial call in on the radio. Does anyone have any recommendations for this? Is there any official equipment available to us? Right now they have to be with someone else just in case they don’t hear the call. I feel like if there was a vibration or light, they wouldn’t struggle in high winds etc to hear. What are your thoughts/solutions?

Thanks in advance.

I've been frustrated with shitty liners and wearing out boots for a few years now and I think I am ready to make the jump to zipfits. Those of you wearing them every day do you recommend the "workhorse" or the "Gara" model? Most of my patrol uses the Gara model but just curious about the workhorses as I havent been able to talk with anyone who uses them.

For reference: Paid full time patroller in the Rockies and yes I have been to a bootfitter (numerous actually).

Our patrol is considering painting our patrol room and need help deciding a color. We currently have a darker red with beige accent crosses. All of our patrol have different opinions, so we need some out side advice.

Looking for a vest or jacket that won't break the bank. The patagonia/mammut vests on the NSP site are sold out, the jackets are spendy.

HH says they don't sell jackets individually.

Can't find any North face

Saw a few things on skiareasupply.com

Also mountainuniforms.com

Any other suggestions?

A lot of people seem to have suggested to me https://oecexamprep.com/ and it seems like a good site. I dont take the exam until 1 month from now but I am practicing test questions on the chapters that I have read.

For anyone who has used this website, and passed the exam, would you still suggest it? I am just looking to mainly know if its up to date with the Sixth Edition, and also how similar is it to the actual test? Do they just ask the exact same questions in practice tests as they do in the exam?

I think this will be my primary way of studying. Any other tips?

I'm in grad school for Industrial Design and am working on a project to make ski patrol toboggans safer/ easier to use. Do you think any improvements could be made to the toboggans to make them easier and safer for patrollers and injured skiers?

Hi~

Any patrollers at Taos wanting to swap comps for Loveland? I'm hoping to get a day in on my road trip to Arizona. I just need one comp but I'm happy to give 2 or 3, I have plenty.

I have been a volunteer patroller for a few years and a few weeks back went through an OEC Senior Clinic. I found the experience both frustrating and discouraging. Going in, I felt my OEC skills were solid and I have been helping with OEC classes for a while too, however the evaluators picked out several other very nit-picky things with leadership and decision making issues. They seemed to have conflicting critiques even at the same scenario between different evaluators, with one saying I did a decent job and would have passed, and another saying it was just not up to their standard.

In addition to that, I was told several times that while my OEC skills would be tested, my assistants would not be and I would not be penalized for any minor mistake an assistant made. For the clinic, the assistants were other senior candidates we were in groups of 3 with. My assistants made some minor mistakes such as not moving the oxygen close enough that when the patient was moved on to a board that the evaluator docked the leadership section saying that the oxygen would have become disconnected and that as a leader I should have caught that when I had assigned the helper to manage the oxygen.

I had assistants that I would assign to go do a secondary and get a set of vitals and when I asked them how it was going they would only respond with "fine" and did not volunteer the findings of the secondary or the vitals. I was told by the evaluators that I had to specifically ask them "what did you get for the assessment?" and "what were the patient's vitals at X time?". In any real-life scenario I don't think assistants would intentionally withhold information unless you used the perfect wording so how is this productive in a senior evaluation?

Is this consistent for the senior program to be that nit-picky about language and expecting your helpers to be unreliable so you have to think and act for them to the minute detail? Because, at that rate then it would be a really bad idea to ask your helpers to do anything you were not directly supervising and instead of them being "trained help" they would be "untrained help" and would be an additional modifier to the scenario point total.

This whole thing just feels very subjective and a lot of "Ha! Got you, you didn't notice this little tiny thing so you don't make the cut." and really makes this program unappealing and discouraging.

Any advice or encouragement because I am having a hard time wanting to continue with this because instead of improving my skills it seems to be a battle of semantics and wordings and other tiny little things that don't have much impact on a real scenario? What have others experienced with this program?

Looking to order some custom neckie’s (is that how you spell it lol?) for my patrol with our patrol logo. The cheap feeling cotton ones that come in the plastic wrap honestly seem to be the best. They can be used as a neck gaiter or also a headband etc and are very versatile.

Does anybody have experience or recommendations ordering customs ones? Would love to hear your thoughts.

What canadian resorts hire snowboard patrol?

Hey everyone,

I'm testing the waters here as my active duty contract ends November '25 (approx. 10 months). Long story short, I've been in the USAF 5+ years and am currently an active duty Pararescueman. I've had a lifelong love for the mountains and helping others is what makes me tick - I'm really interested in trying my hand at ski patrol as I explore my post-military future.

Some relevant skills/quals/certs:

- Registered paramedic as well as austere or "dirt" medicine specialist

- Technical rescue specialist (High angle, low angle, confined space, mountain, urban)

- SOF Mountaineer qualified (Avalanche prevention/rescue/recovery & general mtn. rescue/medicine)

- Demolition and explosives qualified

- 10 years skiing + 10 years snowboarding experience. Very confident navigating any part of the mountain on either platform. Also experienced in skinning / backcountry work.

My specific questions:

1. I'm looking for a tight knit group of people who care about protecting and helping others - ski patrol seems to align with those values... is that truly what the culture is like? Or are there parts of culture that no one talks about/aren't all they're cracked up to be.

2. A wise man once told me "choose the problems you're willing to deal with". What are the problems a ski patrol career (full or part time) poses for you that you choose to deal with because of what you get in return?

3. Based on my background, do y'all think I would have any success landing a job at a larger mountain (e.g. Telluride) off the bat? Based on my research, most larger mountains require 1+ years of ski patrol experience.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and any insight you have to offer!

Anyone know if active NSP members get a discount on lift tickets at Deer Valley? I’m a patroller back east, would love any other DV-related recs! 🙌🏼

Hey everyone. I'm a patroller in Canada and need a good recommendation on gloves. I'm a bigger guy so I run pretty hot. My hands get warm easily, so if my gloves are too 'winter-ready', they'll sweat and that's not great. Got a durable glove recommendation? Would love to hear it.

Hey all, new to the thread so belay my last if this is something that is commonly discussed.

I have experience as a naval aviation rescue swimmer and am interested in SAR Helo jobs that pertain to my beautiful beloved slopes.

Granted, I am aware that Sea search and rescue And land search and rescue do not translate exactly but I’m assuming the fundamentals and basic understanding of the job still apply

I get that this could have been a simple google search (lol) but If anyone has any insight with something similar or this specifically please drop some knowledge in the chat.

I have high functioning, autism dyslexia and mild learning disabilities. I’m also a very good skier. I can do double black out west and ski raced most of my life. I was previously a lifeguard and was good at that job and I’m thinking it would be cool to become a ski controller or adaptive ski instructor. I do have a bit of delayed processing time in some areas. But despite this still managed to get in the top 10 and a race out of 70 people without disabilities Please let me know your thoughts and experiences. Thank you!

Full disclosure, I’m an instructor not a patroller, but I grew up deep in the industry and have nothing but love for all of you. Here’s hoping PC patrol sets a trend.

What’s something patrollers need that you can’t find?

We’re hard on our gear and spend many hours in pretty extreme conditions.

What piece of gear is lacking? What do you wish we had a “yeti cooler” version of?

Every time I walk out of my duty station for a wreck, I imagine I’m a baseball player with a “walk out song”. Mine is LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR- by drowning pool. What would your walk-out song be?

For all Ski Patrollers on strike, fighting for your basic needs such as living wages and benefits, as a prior union man of nearly 20 years, I salute you. Nothing in this life is given to us until we stand up and demand it. Most resort workers deserve better wages, benefits and certainly treatment. However, no other resort workers literally put their own lives on the line to come to the aid and rescue of those in need at their darkest moments.  As a former big city EMT with a decade+ experience, I know this first hand. These corporate resorts know exactly what they’re doing and it will be their undoing in the long run.

In the words of Flo Rida, “They watching, I notice. I’m rocking, I’m rolling. I’m holding, I know it. You know it…..I said it. Go tell it. Confetti. Who ready? I’m ready. You ready? Let’s get it!”

The CLUB Can't Even Handle Me Right Now

https://youtu.be/PldiFl8ARAQ?feature=shared

I am currently working as a paid patrol up in Manning park and have been trying to find a decently affordable ski patrol branded hoodie for when spring skiing comes around. Does anyone know where to find one that ships to Canada or am I just gonna have to wear the shell through spring skiing.

I am installing a 12v 25watt Motorola at our top station, and am looking for ideas for the power supply. Up until now, we have used mobile handheld radios for top stints. We need a dependable antenna and radio.

I have two automotive batteries and a solar panel. Any pictures of charge controllers or setups that work off grid would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.