Category: Ski Patrol

Where has the time went I thought to myself as I headed up Highway 58 for my last patrol day in January. As hard as it was to believe, the month was coming to a close. I was looking forward to a fun day on patrol, and was happy to see the mountain looking good as I pulled up to the patrol room to drop off gear.

Our morning meeting went smoothly, and after discussing the plans for the day, we headed out to open the hill. I snapped a few pictures in the morning light at the base as we headed out, including the shot below of Tyler, Gregg and Anna. By the time we arrived at the top of EPA, the clouds were rolling in and out, but I could tell it was going to be a beautiful day.

After opening a run on the frontside, I worked my way over to Peak 2 and decided to traverse out to our avalanche route to check it out. Not having had the opportunity to run the route yet this season, it was nice walk the ridge, and it reminded me that I needed to get back out to the backcountry again soon.

After checking out the route, I skied back down to Where’s Waldo and enjoyed a nice groomer to the bottom of Peak 2. The lift ride to the top went quickly, and it was time to begin sled training with our crew of candidates who were ready to go.

We met at the top of Peak 2, and then headed over to the top of June’s Run with a Cascade 100, Cascade 350 and an Edge sled in tow. The conditions were exactly all time to run the 350, with only about an inch of new snow over a firm crust, but it would have to do. After talking things over at the top of June’s, the candidates jumped into the handles, sleds and tail ropes, and we shoved off…

The first run down June’s went smoothly, literally because half of the run had been groomed the night prior. The candidates did well on the Edge and Cascade 100, and had a few challenges on the 350, which was expected given the conditions.

Once down at the bottom, we provided some feedback, before heading back up to do another lap. This time, folks switched positions and those in the handles, went to the tails or provided ballast for the sled. This time, I jumped in since we were short a couple of folks, and got pulled down the hill by Gretchen and Sarah.

Gretchen and Sarah did great, although I could tell the conditions were challenging. We made it to the flats below, and they ran the sled empty from there down to continue practicing with the 350 sans a heavy load.

The rest of the morning was spent making a few more laps on June’s, which went similarly to the first couple. I snapped a few more pictures as we practiced, and then it was time to head in for lunch.

After lunch, which provided a quick rest, it was back to sled training. The feedback and repetition was starting to set in for the candidates, and the runs after lunch looked quite a bit better than in the morning. 

The shadows started to creep onto the run, and pretty soon most of June’s was in the shade — a subtle reminder that winter wasn’t giving way to spring quite yet. I fired off several more shots, including a couple below that I liked of Tyler and Althea pulling Ian and then Gretchen and Jenn pulling James….

After shooting the above mentioned crew, I headed to over to the other side of the run and was able to snap a few photos of Amber pulling Michael on the Edge sled and then zoom out to get a wide-angle shot of the crew heading down towards the base of Peak 2.

Down at the bottom, I caught James lounging in the sled, and he was more than happy to pose for the camera :). We had time for a couple more laps before sweep, so we headed up decided that Escalator would be a good run to finish on. 

I jumped into the sled pulled by Jenn and Gretchen for our final training lap of the day. They rocked it on the way down, and I was able to capture a few shots of Jenn from my vantage point in the sled, including the picture below.

After our last training run, the candidates took care of the sleds and it was time to close Peak 2 and then EPA. Closing went smoothly, and I snapped a picture of Greg on RTS before heading down to take care of paperwork and get the beers and bean dip ready for after our evening meeting.

I kept the evening meeting short, and enjoyed a tasty Robot Overlord Hazy IPA from Loowit Brewing that I’d picked up a few months earlier in Vancouver while visiting Mt St Helens with my family. It hit the spot, and so did the bean dip.

I enjoyed the camaraderie with fellow patrollers in the patrol room while looking over run reports, and eventually it was time to call it a day and hit the road with Shaun. All in all, it was another great day on patrol at the Pass!

I was looking forward to a three-day weekend with an extra day off of work, and the plan was to head to Sunriver with the family to enjoy a couple days of vacation. Shaun and I had a patrol day smack dab in the middle of our weekend, but we were happy to get some turns in and headed out early from the east side and made the trip south on highway 97 before arriving at the Pass. Our morning meeting went well, and soon we were out opening the hill.

I could tell it was going to be a busy day, and soon the chairs were full of skiers and riders and the lift lines started to queue. The first couple hours of the morning went pretty smoothly, but then things started to get interesting….

As it sometimes does, things started to happen in a flurry, and within an hour we were managing 6 different incidents that included a broken wrist, a seizure on the Peak 2 chairlift, a diabetic that hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for hours, a very small girl with a fractured leg, and concussion, and a single leg amputee that had fallen out of the chairlift from 20 feet. Needless to say things got busy. After dispatching all my patrollers, I ended up treating the broken wrist until Toby could come and relieve me, and then I took the toboggan down to the skier who fell from the chairlift. While skiing down, I came across another injury, a twisted knee, and let them know we’d get to them as soon as we could.

After dropping off the sled and riding back up the chair, I grabbed another and headed down to meet up with Patrick who was treating the knee injury. We took the patient down to the bottom of Peak 2 and I bid Patrick farewell as he headed off around the haul road for the front.

I managed to get over to the front and the aid room was like a MASH clinic with patients everywhere. After a bit, we were able to get things somewhat calmed down and I found 20 minutes to eat my lunch before heading back out on the hill when we started to get more calls from dispatch. Another knee, a concussion, etc., the calls just kept coming.

Eventually, things calmed down and the day moved to an end with sweep, but not before one more incident which brought the total for the day to 11, not including courtesy rides. Sweep went off smoothly, and I was pretty happy for that, and I managed to capture a few pics of Amber as we closed RTS.

Back down at the patrol room, we held the evening meeting and it was clear everyone was a bit weary from the day. We recapped the day’s incidents, discussed learning points, and then it past time to enjoy a well deserved cold one. My beer of choice for the day was a fitting Mountain Rescue Pale Ale from Good Life Brewing, and it hit the spot after a stressful day on the hill.

An hour or so later, after looking over the incident report forms and closing up the patrol room, Shaun and I headed back to Sunriver. Both of us were looking forward to getting back with the rest of the family and taking a dip in the hot tub, before coming back to the Pass the next morning to ski together with the cousins! The next day was definitely fun and a lot more relaxing. Below are a few shots from our day…

I was on duty for my first patrol day in January on the 7th, which was also the first Saturday of the month. Conditions were looking to be ok, with about an inch of new snow overnight and sunny skies in the forecast. I headed up in the morning with Shaun in tow, and we made it to the ski area in good time, arriving early to the morning quiet ahead of the hustle and bustle a few hours later.

Our patrol had a good morning meeting, and then we headed up to the top of EPA to open the mountain. After our first lap, I snapped a picture of a few of the gang at the top.

The plan for the day was to get all of our toboggan instructors through a continuing education clinic, to ensure everyone would be on the same page for teaching the sled candidates coming up over the next couple of months. We wanted to start that early, so I snapped a picture of Jon and Anna at the top of EPA and headed over to Peak 2 with several others to get started…

Once at the top of Peak 2, I found several others getting a few Cascade 100’s ready to roll down Waldo. We talked over a few points applicable to proper sled running, then headed down to the rollover to chat some more….

We talked over a variety of issues associated with running the 100’s, including proper use of the brake and how to effectively run the tail rope, as well as proper weight distribution for skis, etc. After our discussion, Craig headed down with Brian on the tail and we all slid down Waldo. I snapped a few shots as everyone headed down, capturing Mt Ray in the background….

After making a couple of runs, we called it good for the sled running and headed up to the top of EPA to play with the sled pickets that Laurie was interested in. Basically the sled pickets were just mountaineering pickets with some sewn runners and carabiners that work pretty well to anchor the sled in most snow conditions.

We spent a little time practicing with the system, and it definitely worked well holding the sled on a slope with a load applied to it. Hopefully we won’t have to use the pickets anytime soon, but it’s nice to have the option in the event they might be needed.

By the time we wrapped up the sled work, it was time to head over to Peak 2 and get ready for sweep. I was able to catch up with Shaun, and we swept Escalator together. I let him go down ahead, and snapped a picture of him at the bottom looking quite small from up above.

Peak 2 sweep went quickly, and soon we were all back up top and ready to head over to EPA for upper mountian sweep. I captured a few pictures of the SPY as well as James and Julie with the SPY up top before we headed over.

After making the short hike to EPA, we swept the upper and lower mountains. The frontside sweep went smoothly (no major incidents or courtesy rides) and we were back down at base in time for me to snap a few more pictures, including Shaun below as well as a pic of my cold beverage of choice for the afternoon, a tasty Cloud Core Hazy Pale Ale from Ecliptic Brewing.

After our evening meeting, it was time to dive into the beer and chips/dip, and it felt great to hang out and catch up with fellow patrollers after a fun day on the hill. Good camaraderie with fellow patrollers is one of my favorite things about being on patrol, and probably the main reason that I keep coming back year after year. Like many days on patrol, this day was a great day, and I’m hoping to have many more this year filled with good snow and good friends! Here’s a parting shot from the day….

 

As hard as it was to believe, the last day of 2022 was already here, and I was heading up to the Pass with Shaun for a day of patrolling. I was excited to be patrolling with Patrol 3 since I was covering for Toby, and there was a dusting of fresh snow when we pulled into the parking lot. After the morning meeting, we headed out to get on the hill. Unfortunately, the weather the night before had rained and then froze, and then finished with a little snow, which meant EPA was pretty iced up. It took several of us pushing chairs through the base of the lift for about an hour to get it going, but soon we were in business.

After we got EPA open, I headed over to Peak 2 to take a few laps and help open runs. The skiing was pretty nice, even though the snow conditions weren’t optimal. I ended up getting busy fairly quickly with incidents, and took part in three during the next few hours, either through toboggan transport or assistance in the aid room. When I finally got back out on the hill, it was time for my bump up top. I managed to catch a picture of Tyler at the top of EPA, and then headed down to the bump shack to hang out.

Once my bump was over it was time for Peak 2 sweep. I headed over and we closed the back without incident. Once back at the top, we made the hike up to EPA and the lighting was really nice. I pulled out the camera and took multiple pictures while we waited for last chair. I even managed to have one of the patrollers get a picture of me and Shaun!

The month of December is a great time to get some really good light at the Pass, especially around sweep, and I was happy to pull my camera out and take some more shots as the minutes ticked by. The two shots below of Ian and Sarah and the starburst with Sarah are a couple of my favorite from the day…

A few minutes later, we had last chair, and it was time to begin sweep. Normally I like to sweep RTS, but I chose to head down Good Time with Shaun since I had been so busy all day it was our first chance to ski together.

 We worked our way down the Toothpaste Tube and then onto Charlie. The softer snow from earlier in the day was beginning to refreeze, but Shaun managed to negotiate it without too much trouble.

We swept the run clean and met up with the other patrollers from KP and Eagles once lower mountain sweep began. I snapped the below photo of various patrollers and SPY sweeping KP, and it reminded me of the previous year before Shaun was on Patrol when he was really excited to get to sweep with us.

At the base, everyone shuffled into the patrol room, and we had a quick evening meeting. It was nice to relax after a long but fun day on the hill, and I enjoyed a tasty Pilot Rock Porter from Caldera Brewing.

And just like that, 2022 was in the books. I’d have to say it was a pretty great year, and I’m hoping 2023 is even better!

 

Sunshine was in the forecast, and it was looking like it was going to be a great weekend at the Pass. Peak 2 was on the docket, with it opening for the first day of the season the day prior, and the stoke factor was high as I pulled into the parking lot for a day of patrolling. We had a good morning meeting, and headed out shortly thereafter to open the hill in the bright sunshine. I headed up to the top of EPA and snapped a few pic before opening High Lead.

Once back to the bottom, I called in the run report and hopped on EPA and headed back up and worked my way over to Peak 2. The snow was pretty nice, and I spun a couple of laps on the back with a few other patrollers while waiting for sled check-offs to start. One interesting note — while checking out conditions in the meadow I saw a large slide that had occurred recently, most likely a result of the nasty buried surface hoar that’s been quite persistent this season. More to come on that later…

A bit later, we met at the top of Peak 2 with the intention of doing sled checks for the alpine patrollers on Escalator. Joe was up to help facilitate, and it felt nice to get the sleds out on some steep runs.

We headed off down Boundary, and Anna led the way running the sled unloaded as we headed down. I setup to shoot a few shots with my 70-200 mm Canon mirrorless lens, and was happy with the results…

At the top of Escalator, we stopped for moment to go over the basics of running a loaded sled, and to allow for a “patient” to hop in. Then, it was time to head over the edge…

Anna was in the handles and Jon was on the tail, with Greg in the sled. Anna rocked it, and had no problem skiing the sled with Greg down the run. I snapped a few pictures as they headed down…

Halfway down the run, it was time for a transition, with Anna taking the tail rope and Jon stepping into the handles. Jon did great in the handles as well, and they worked down to the flats below with no issues. I snapped a few more photos, including the shots below.

The next run up, it was my turn, and I partnered up with Dan for our sled checkoff. It was nice to get back in the handles and tail rope on a loaded sled, and it’s always fun to run a sled with Dan. After our check-off, we headed out to the Meadow — I wanted to show Dan the slide that I’d come across earlier that morning.

We grabbed Amber, who was shadowing Dan for the day, and headed out. When we got there Dan was quite amazed, given he’d been skiing back there the day prior and it appeared the slide happened between the morning and when he had skied through there the day before around 3pm. We check it out from the top and the bottom, and the surface hoar layer was definitely the culprit. I snapped several pics of the skiers on the bed surface and toe for perspective.

After all of that, it was time for lunch. We worked our way off Peak 2 and over to the front, and skied corn on Good Time on our way down to the Patrol Room. I guess if you can’t have powder in mid-December, corn is the next best thing.

 After lunch, we headed out to do some saw work on some of the downed trees that had fallen during the intense windstorm a few days earlier. Dan had his electric saw, which works great for limbing trees in the snow, and our first stop was a smaller tree at the top of Good Time. With the tree of us (Amber, Dan and I), we made short work of the tree and limbs, clearing it off the run in about 20 minutes.

Next up, we headed over to Timburr to work on a tree that Fischer and Chad had worked on the day prior. The snow on the way down Charlie enroute to the base was quite nice, and it’s always fun to shoot photos of a patroller carrying a saw…

At base, we dropped Dan’s saw off at the Patrol Room, since the beta we had on the two trees down on High Lead and Timburr was that they’d been limbed up the day prior and just needed disposal. That turned out to be about half true however (at least for the tree on Timburr). We were able to easily get rid of all the cut limbs on the tree on High Lead, but needed the shovel and saw for the other half. Dan had to leave for bump, but we radioed Jon and he picked up Dan’s saw at base and headed down to meet Amber and I.

With the saw in hand, I was able to get the rest of the limbs cut while Jon and Amber cleared the limbs. It was amazingly warm in the sun, and all of us were sweating by the time we were done, but it felt great to get the trees off the run before more snow came in to cover them up, creating potential nasty hazards. We managed to make it to the top of EPA just in time for sweep, and I hung out up top with Dan, who was running upper mountain closing, after the rest of the patrol headed down to sweep the runs. Sitting there as the sun began to set behind Diamond Peak reminded me of dusk patrol tours in the spring, and it felt really nice to enjoy the quiet after a busy day.

Shortly before upper mountain sweep was completed, Amber and I headed down to ski RTS and help out iwth lower mountain sweep. RTS was really nice, and the turns were enjoyable as we headed down in the waning light.

Lower mountain sweep went off without incident, and soon we were back in the patrol room for the evening meeting, which meant it was time to enjoy a cold beer after a hard day’s work. My offering for the day was a Public House Pale Ale from Oakshire Brewing, and it hit the spot. I should have either cranked the ISO or pulled out the tripod, but I was too tired to remember either, so the photo came out a bit blurry, but that’s the way it sometimes goes:)

The next half hour or so was filled with laughter and talk about the day, and it’s really one of my favorite parts of patrol (the camaraderie with great folks). All in all, the season’s off to a great start, both from the patrol perspective and with respect to the snowpack. I hope it keeps it up on both accounts!