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The guardian angel of the ski slopes
Ski patrol is team work, it has several main tasks:
Safety and maintenance of the ski area
Marking and setting up protection from dangers, opening and closing slopes, artificial triggering of avalanches, avalanche risk forecasting, maintenance and repair of service equipment, patrolling the ski area.
First aid to the injured
Evacuation on the slopes and off piste, avalanche search and rescue, participation in evacuation by helicopter, search for missing persons in the ski area, reinforcement of mountain rescue teams, ongoing coordination of rescue operations, maintenance of emergency equipment.
Providing skiers with information and help.
This is a seasonal job, most of the ski patrol are employees of the ski lift companies in resorts.
Specialisations
A qualified ski patroller can go on to train in other specialties:
- Pyrotechnicain, a specialist in triggering avalanches (see ANENA - National Association for the Study of Snow and Avalanches - http://www.anena.org)
- avalanche dog handler- (see ANENA)
- Snow and Weather Observer (see CEN Météo France +33 (0)476 637 900)
2nd and 3rd level
The additional training allows first degree ski patrol to train futher in areas such as rescue organisation, writing up reports of interventions but also to become Patrol Experts (Supervising the training of future ski patrollers), or Patrol Leaders (responsible for a sector of the resort). These courses are provided by ENSA in Chamonix.
COURSE CONTENTS AND STRUCTURE  |
