Great day on the hill today. The snow was nice in the a.m. but grew heavy later on. It was a good day to pace yourself and slowly get your powder legs back.  A few folks even checked out Alpine East and somebody, skied the t-bar line. The snow packed in nice and the groomed stuff was fun too. The patrol had a good presence with several folks on their personal ski days grabbing radios and pitching in as needed. It was great to have so many patrollers and guests around on a Sunday.

The lift-crews busted it with some help from the ski school to get the lift dug out early and we finally got to “officially” open Bull Moose.

Thanks to Steve for sticking around and helping make our closing procedures go well. Also Phil for coaching me through the ropes. It was a wet day but a safe one, which left us all with smiles on our faces Sunday.

We also had two potential candidates leave contact information, so that was good too.  The one I spoke with I invited out to ski with us and hope both candidates will do so.

Here’s a couple of shots from this new pano ap I’m testing out. The first is a view from outside the base lodge the other from the inside.

From the inside.

From the top of the Dick Libby building.

That last one is the first one and a little choppy as you can see. Still kind of fun.

Ski ya on the hill Wednesday. Please come out and train or to check out what happens on a fun night shift.

I did notice some poor behavior on the slopes that was more akin to folks not engaging their brains before they do something, we’ve all been there.

This is one of the signs at the bottom of chair 1. It always reminds me, practice, practice, practice.

Troy Crane and I chatted and skied a wee bit but also discussed some early-season observations.
Slow down and remember our space is limited right now. It’s not a race for patrollers, we’ve seen a lot of developing skiers riding in the back seat…way back on your skis — the cause?

Likely you are trying to go too fast. Back off the speed a bit and work on all those turns.

One early season practice tip, which helps a lot when you are skiing loaded toboggans, is to make a lot of turns and of all types.

From side-slip, snowplowing, tight slaloms, sweeping GS and even a hoppy jump turn here and there helps develop good controlled skiing.

There will be goof ups, here and there but work at smooth transitions and well-executed turns.

There’s an old saying, I’ll mess up, but it goes something like this: The race is not always to the fastest but to he who keeps on going. I heard Troy coaching his son and telling him this another way emphasizing foot and ski position for strong GS turns.

“I don’t care how fast you are going,” he said. “Get your feet apart.”

I always like skiing, or just talking to Troy about skiing, because I always learn something new.

Here’s short You Tube clip that’s a good illustration.

And here’s the junk show:

Hats off to Sunday River, which again has been at it for more than a month now going on two. Sugarloaf is open and it’s famed Tote Road was available on Sunday, although not in pristine shape, we are told. Can we really be picky this early on such a great trail?

Meanwhile, Saddleback is working to lay down snow for a Friday opening and with the recent help from above (thanks Canada) and some solidly cold days coming everybody will be going great guns for the holidaze ahead.

It looks like almost all the hills big and small will be ready for Christmas.

That reminds me of a little holiday seasontale that’s taken on some mythical proportions in my mind and I can’t even remember precisely all those involved.

But many moons ago a sweeping patroller in the early season at Sugarloaf encountered upon a group of Japanese tourists posing for a group photo near Chicken Pitch.

It was Thanksgiving Day and the group was apologetic and sincere in not wanting to delay the patroller’s Thanksgiving Dinner.  Repeatedly the patroller assured them it wasn’t a problem but dark was begin to loom and he wanted them to get off the hill safely. (There may have been day’s end beer in the lockerroom under the chapel that day but my memory is foggy on that detail) Anyway as each member of the group took a photo of the group with their camera and then rotated back into the line, the patroller suggested he take one photo of them all together.

In doing so they could all have a photo with everybody else in it, which was the objective.  The idea was well-received and the group stood posing for the group portrait.

As the patroller sized up the shot he realized one of the group was without skis. On further inspection he could see the man was without boots as well, standing in the newly man-made snow in his stocking feet but joyfully posing for photos.

Upon seeing this the patroller called for a transport-only toboggan from the top shack at Spillway long-side. The ride went well and the man sustained no major issues with his toes or feet.

The story, as it ends up, is that the man had ejected completely from his boots in the throws of a yard sale. The boots stayed in the ski bindings, so the ski brakes did not released. One ski went one way the other on a divergent tangent, both well downhill and into the trees. They were found the next day.

The day ended fine and nobody was the worse for wear as the man was not injured and had only sustain a dent to his ego, which was now propped back up with the wonder and awe the patrollers had in his nonchalant manner, of losing not only both skis but his boots in the same go. Many had never seen anything quite like it. But come snow or Thanksgiving dinner they were getting their group photo, it was pluck and determination — ok a little silly too.

The patrollers all had a good laugh over this that evening and for the rest of the season the trail was no longer simply Tote Road, but was honorarily named Tokyo Road in honor of the bootless guest. When ever a patroller had the opportunity to use the name in conversation or radio traffic emphasis was always added for effect.

It became a fond tribute to a human moment that bonded these cultures together with a sense of humor and respect. We are now few days past Pearl Harbor Day and a sad reminder of how divergent our countries’ paths once were but also happy of our strong friendship today.

Peace is made by people, day-by-day on a mountainside or anywhere and certainly this little fable, which was fun at the time, has a bigger meaning for me these years hence.

I don’t remember who the patrollers involved were anymore, only the story as it was told to me, so if this was you shout out.

I just have this vague recollection of how the story went down  and memories of that honorary nickname for the trail.

On a final sad note today we received word that Spruce Mountain in Jay would not be opening for the season.

They have trouble with a transformer that may be too costly to replace. The mountain which piggybacked power from the nearby paper mill was put in a binder when the mill was shuttered earlier this year. Spruce was home to one of the oldest and the only one that I know of — double rope tow — in Maine.

Thousands in Jay and the surrounding community learned to ski there and many tales were made by local skiers there. Hopefully Spruce will be able to find a good benefactor to help with their power needs and be back in it soon.

Whether you are on the hill at present or off I’m wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season and will hopefully see you all on the hill soon. If you don’t see me first that is.

This new huge and nicely manicured glade is to skiers left of Muleskinner

Jared Emerson, the supervisor of this cutting effort and Saddleback’s Patrol Director, hosted us onhill.

Jared, a third generation Saddleback patroller, has put a lot of thought into how they will patrol this area, which is going present a new challenge for that hill’s patrollers.

The glade work they have done up there is awesome and the crew was pysched for folks to get in there and use it. The video that follows is a rough, rough cut from my flip camera.

You can find a story and more professional video by Sun Journal photographer Russ Dillingham here, after Sunday a.m.

A big thanks to Jared and his crew on Saddleback for taking some time to show us around pre-season.

Now let’s get some snow.

Image via Wikipedia

Sometimes we have to come down off the mountain and spend time in a classroom. That doesn’t mean we don’t have fun doing it. Lost Valley’s refresher for 2009 went great, thanks to the hard work and dedication of many instructors, “patients” and finally the most important element, our patrol volunteers and candidates. As part of NSP’s annual requirement for Outdoor Emergency Care Technicians we refreshed a variety of first responder, evacuation and transportation methods.

This year’s NSP recruitment campaign motto is, “We’re a different breed, join us.” Refresher every year is an affirmation of that for me. So please join us. If you like being outside and helping people in the winter, that’s what we do.

At one point on Saturday I stood in awe of the collective experience in the room — somewhere in the vicinity of 140 years of patrolling experience.

We were working on standing back-boards and helmet removal and while I was the so-called “instructor” I was learning as much as I was teaching.

Working on hips and backs practice at Lewiston High School.On Sunday we took to the slope and the chairlift to practice our evacuation methods.

On Sunday we worked on our chairlift evacuations. It was a good time.

Some people had never been on the belying end of a figure-8 friction device, for others it was old hat, but even those of us with years of practice, were refreshed on some key elements and were able to inspect ropes.

We were even treated to an ascension by one instructor who warned us all to, do try it at home.

Refreshing our skills each season is a good mental stretching exercise as we gear up for another fun season on the slopes.

Ron shows us how to use the sling shot launcher, from inside out. Why?

This Sunday we refresh our “pump and blow” skills or as some call it CPR and AED.

Hope this message finds all of Maine’s ski patrols doing well and here’s wishing to a safe season.

We will be back after our first tracks.

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Hoping the weather holds up so we can practice the old dangle from the angle. It was a good night of review tonight for candidates and I think they are all primed to do well on their written exam next week.

I’m wishing them all luck.

The video below is a pretty fun look at a lift evac in France. Thanks YouTube and the folks who made this.

It took three hours, according to the film. That’s something to think about when it’s chilly out. What do you suppose is the biggest issue for lift-evacs besides the danger of a high-angle belay? Some evacs in Maine have been two but — knock on wood — no major ones in several years.

If you watch closely and can get over the music you will notice in this video the rescuers are ascending to guests and helping them harness up.  In one shot you see a rescuer taking a zip-ride down the haul rope on the chair-lift. It looked like a very well-coordinated effort.  What else do you notice? What tools did they employ? How about communications with the guests and fellow rescuers?

It was great fun but it reminded me of the old saying, “You don’t plan to fail, you fail to plan.”

We had a good planning session and now have a good plan for Saturday and Sunday. I hope the rain holds off so we can get some outdoor time in too. We’ve got a cadre of experience so we will have fun either way.

The long-range forecast isn’t looking too rosy on

Saturday — Sunday looks better.

We will have donuts. So there’s that. Refresher starts Saturday at 8 a.m. at Lewiston High School. Instructors and their helpers, like me, will have a bit of an early start but so be it.

Now back to that list part 2 or deux.

This is a fun video to get you in the mood. Check out those packs and that powder too.

*As always the most important thing you will ever carry is the knowledge of your training and experience — always pack that first.

Your carrying device of choice is all in good shape so now what are you putting in there?

Here’s what’s in my pack for medical supplies:

A few sets of BSI gloves, a red bag labeled for bio-wastes, a couple clear bags and/or a large empty zip-lock for snow or ice, a pocket mask with a one-way valve and O2 port, several rolls of cling in various widths, a stack of 4X4 guaze pads, some tape, at least two cravats for slings and other things, a selection of band-aids including, mondo-size, two tongue depressors (preferably clean), a SAM splint, a short section of pool noodle, a tube of glucose and, of course, a small dispenser of hand sanitizer – do not mix these two up.

It is also good to keep a pair of gloves tucked into a pocket or two of your patrol parka.

Next up: Hardware for patrollers — what’s the bare minimum to carry? What’s getting carried away?

Image by deanna_ via Flickr

It’s also worth the investment to buy a good radio harness. One with some storage capacity is a nice way to keep a few, essentials handy. There are several available VIA National Ski Patrol’s member services page Here’s a link to Cascade, the toboggan maker’s site. I use a Conterra single-radio harness with a small pocket.

A. The stuff that’s necessary (carried on you when you patrol):

In my radio harness pocket is: my personal cell phone, a few zip ties, a sharp knife/multi-tool device, good trauma shears (marked with your name or unit number).*

On my harness: a roll or two of tape on a dispenser, a storm whistle, a good penlight.

Next up is what I carry in my waistbelt pack or “fanny pack” some people will prefer carrying a small backpack but keep in mind it can be cumbersome when riding a chair lift.

The stuff that’s nice (can be carried with your or readily stowed at your base area or top shack):

*Trauma shears can easily get mis-appropriated on busy scenes. That’s why marking them will ensure they always come home to you. Get a good pair as it will be worth the investment, you will find them a most useful and frequently needed tool.