A new and improved ski patrol has been protecting the lives of skiers up and down the slopes of the Dartmouth Skiway.
One patroller, Carrie Kuss '96, cited an amusing incident where she was told by a knee-injury patient that the patrol was "just like Baywatch but on skis."
Matt Fulton '96, director of the ski patrol, has worked to revamp the patrol by instituting new training programs and motivating freshmen to join.
The patrol provides first aid coverage for various events both during the ski season and in the off season and operates "under the auspices" of the Dartmouth Outing Club, Fulton said.
"We're responsible for checking slopes to make sure they're safe and that we could evacuate skiers with ropes if the chair lifts broke down," Fulton said.
"There have been noticeable changes in the program. It has gained a lot more respect at the Skiway," said Kuss, who is in her third year of the program.
"Matt has added a lot. There have been a lot of changes in training and we now have a lot of people out there that really want to help maintain safety on the Skiway," Kuss said.
Fulton said the ski patrol recruits freshmen during their Fall term, when they are trained for Winter Emergency Care, which includes first aid and Cardiovascular Pulmonary Resuscitation. The following term they are versed in the use of ropes and toboggans.
"We're looking for confident skiers for the patrol, those who can ski anything at the Skiway comfortably. They should look good skiing so that skiers feel safe that they'll be taken care of if they're hurt," Fulton said.
Members of the National Ski Patrol conducted the freshmen's training, which lasted 60 hours.
"This course prepared us for most eventualities that we would find at the Skiway," Alex Waldman '99 said.
"I'm excited about learning a lot this season. I like to patrol extra days," Matt David '99 said.
"Treating a patient on the snow was much different and more difficult than on the streets," said Fulton, who has been an Emergency Medical Technician since his freshman year at Dartmouth.
"Joining the ski patrol was something I've always dreamed of doing and it's great that Dartmouth offers this opportunity," Fulton said.
"My first year I'd gone through a 60-hour WEC class and was excited to practice my skills," Kuss said. "I raced down from the top shack to help a little kid who had supposedly taken a serious fall."
"This sounds terrible, but I was psyched. All he needed was a band-aid. The patrol director came down shortly after with a sled. We were both very disappointed."
After completion of their freshman year training, the students become certified EMTs, or First Responders, and work on the slopes for at least 50 hours of their Winter term, at least two shifts a week, according to the ski patrol's World Wide Web page.
The patrol has had to face some brutally cold conditions in the past.
"I remember once when it was 25 below with a wind chill of 100 degrees below zero," said John Koiter, advisor of the patrol who has 15 years of experience with the NSP.
"Our biggest concern when it gets that cold is frostbite. We keep close watch on the people riding the lift," Koiter continued.
But the recent warm spell has been detrimental to the patrol's efforts, he said.
"We hate it. It's certainly not as much fun," Koiter said. "There were only three paying skiers at the Skiway last Friday."
There will be five open spaces on the patrol next year, if the apprentices complete the WEC, Koiter said.
"The ski patrol's been around since the '40s," Fulton said. "It's always been very small, especially when the Skiway was at Oak Hill."
"It's progress dwindled during the '80s until the National Ski Patrol developed Winter Emergency Care training for patrollers and the Dartmouth patrol went over to using that."
