Does Anybody Know What You Have to Be Able to Do to Get into the National Snow Ski Patrol?
Your Questions
Does anybody know what you have to be able to do to get into the National Ski Patrol? And please don’t say ‘ski’ or ‘snow board’ (that is a given). I am looking for skills you have to have specifically or what they suggest you can do before signing up to try out for Ski Patrol. A list of skills, things they suggest you can do, etc.
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09/17/2010 at 7:17 am
First you have to be accepted as a candidate at a ski area. Some mountains have try outs. Then once you have a mountain to accept you, in the summer or fall you have to take the Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) course given in different areas. OEC is a course ran under National Ski Patrol. It is similar to an EMT except it deals more with a non-urban setting of emergencies. It is approx. about 100 hours. The next step is as a candidate you go through the ski areas Ski and Toboggan (S+T) course or toboggan handling course. Basic skills of this are good skiing and a stong side slip and wedging ability. Also rope management required for doing the tail rope in a rescue. All that I said is a big time commitment thing.
You also pay yearly dues to NSP.
09/17/2010 at 7:17 am
All what Rockette said and:
If you are currently employed in a health care profession or have medical training at the EMT level or higher you can petition to take the OEC Challenge exam, thereby skipping the OEC Course and saving yourself a few bucks.
You can read more at :
http://www.nsp.org
http://www.oeczone.com
Or better yet, make nice with your local Patrol and let them know of your interest. Each Patrol has a different set of time requirements for its members. My Patrol is pretty liberal about training work and duty shifts, others are really strict. Most Patrols will let you hang out with them a couple of times to see if it’s something you want to do.
If you are not at least comfortable with dealing with injured people, I wouldn’t suggest you try this now. It is a lot of medical stuff. Mostly dislocations and fractures, but you have to be able to deal with blood and (increasingly now due to head injuries) vomit. MMMMM! However, if that sort of stuff doesn’t freak you out and you have a strange sense of humor (bordering on the perverse) then Ski Patrol might be something to look into.