A Day in the Life of Ski Patrol

A day in the life of Patrol. Snow days

We wake up early, like really, really, early.

Most of us are up at 5:00am or earlier to be at the mountain for 6:00am on avalanche control days. The day starts with our forecast team putting together an avalanche forecast for the day and coordinating with our Patrol Supervisor to get up the mountain in the dark and start priming explosives.

The rest of the Patrol team meets in the office for our daily briefing on mountain operations. Then we head out the door to meet with the forecast team, we divide and conquer between ski cutting, explosive control, run checks, and high-speed vertical assessments of our most prized pow lines. Before we open the mountain to the public we've had more than a few caffeinated beverages, skied multiple laps, probably reviewed some training, checked and repacked all the rescue equipment on the mountain, and are probably a few shots into our avalanche control route.

As we settle into the day with the public now cruising the slopes it usually gets more interesting. From here on out we're on deck for the inevitable chaos that ensues with fresh pow. Busy lifts, events, managing injuries, and backcountry rescues generally keep us occupied for most of the day. If we are not occupied, we make ourselves busy with ongoing training, weather/avalanche observations, or just getting out there to shred the pow.

Our day begins to wrap up with patrol sweeps to ensure we leave no one behind, followed by a team debrief back at the office to discuss and review the many events throughout our day.

Be sure to check out Patrols new Instagram account @whitewaterskiresort for more insight into what it takes to be a Whitewater Patroller.