Skiing or Politics? (skiing related. Duh.)

Nope, not about whether we need any more politics on the board.

Okay, so I have this choice. For the past couple of years I have poked around the idea of joining the ski patrol, but haven't really had the time to commit to taking an OEC (outdoor emergency care) class every weekend from September to December. Challenging the class has not been an option as I dropped my EMT certification a while back.

Now I have the opportunity to take one in a condensed format with Ranier Mountaineering Inc. Starts next week.

I figure the outlay is a wash. The cost of my taking it would offset the value of free pass, pro-deals, etc. in the first year.

The problem is that I would have to pull down some political capital at work. It would mean blowing off three functions, a candidates forum and getting my elected commissioner bosses to change two meetings.

It would also mean that I would pull patrol duties on my ski days which are few enough as it is. On the other hand, it would be extra rationale for being on the mountain.

Anyone ever done the volly patrol? So, is it worth it?

Did the volunteer thing during college. I worked at a small hill so the amount of skiing time was good. However, some of the larger ski areas are under staffed and you will end up spending most of your days working accidents. Take into account what ski area it is, % of beginners, and amount of patrollers. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I'm gonna do the patroll thing this winter, can't wait free season pass :D of course I'm the guy that the patroll is there for

to get the job you might like to learn how to spell it.

unless it's been 7 years you can probably reactivate your emt cert by taking a refresher course (should be about the same amount of class time as OEC)

on a political not, the national registry can fuck itself sideways with a cattle prod... (inneficient incompetent slackers)

did the volunteer patrol gig a few years back. Mixed bag at best. Yes you get a free pass and have an excuse to be on the mountain. But you aren't really skiing for yourself, mostly working, not out there ripping it.

If you really want to ski, just get pass. Hauling a sled around all day and telling people to slow down is a poor substitute, even if its free.

Renewing an maintaining his EMT without an agency affiliation may be too much hassle/not possible. I am not familar with any Volly patrol that does OTEP. Going with an OEC would be alot easier since the Patrol will likely handle the yearly refresher and certifications. Grrr, I'm guessing from your RMI affiliation that you are considering Crystal's volunteer patrol?

Also unfortunantly you don't really get direct access pro-deals from most companies. Some do but the majority do not.

If you had any fucking balls you'd be out stealing for a living, not wishing you could apply band-aids all winter.....

Vollied for 11 years between Whitewater and Red Mountain. When it was fun, it was fun. A really good crowd of people. First chair, last chair. It got to the point though for me that the only time I skied at the hill was when I patrolled so I figured that I'd bail and just ski tour for 100+ days a year and leave it at that. Don't regret it, really enjoyed it most days. Saw some nasty injuries, a couple of dead bodies, a lot of blood. Up until a few years back I still got Christmas cards from a few folks I dragged out of gnarly spots like Cambodia, Sarahs, Roots and other tight steep places.

Probably my funnest gig hauling sled was when me and a buddy got spotted flying down the hill with a couple of sleds and ended up beng drafted by the CBC for $200 a day to haul their cameras and fibre optics into place for a World Cup downhill. Pretty funny, cruising down the middle of a downhill course with $100,000 worth of equipment at 60 miles an hour.

Definitely a memorable experience, I say go for it. The skiing that is. Politics will always suck and will always be there should you decide to pursue it later.