by Nathan Boddy
When Jeff Motley of the Lost Trail Ski Patrol instructed the candidate patrollers to guide the toboggan down Thunder, directly under chair lift #2, he knew they’d be less than thrilled about practicing beneath the watchful eyes of hundreds of skiers.
“Because you’re right under the chair and you’ve got a big white cross on your back!” he hollers with a smile.
The maneuvers didn’t phase the candidates, however, and they were soon paired up, carefully descending the black-diamond run while guiding a loaded toboggan down the steep terrain. Toboggan skills are one of the patrol’s essential maneuvers, and something all patrollers practice frequently since it is necessary for the safety of skiers on the mountain. Skiers at Lost Trail know and appreciate their patrollers, and appreciation for candidates is no different.
“Future heroes in the making!” yells one rider as he ascends overhead on the lift.
Far from the lift lines and warmth of the lodge, patrollers Harry Stone and Hardy Bloemeke listen intently to the crackle of the radio from the patrol shack at the top of Chair 4. While the public doesn’t get to see the type of work Harry Stone does early in the morning, it is no less critical to the safety of mountain users.
“Generally, we do what is called ‘ski cutting,’” says Stone, describing a system of crossing slide-prone slopes laterally in a safe, ‘eyes-on’ manner in order to intentionally trigger an avalanche on unstable slopes. At Lost Trail, especially later in the season when much of the area has been compacted by skiers, this often means clearing storm- or wind-blown snow from dangerous pockets.
“There are certain pockets we like to get to that tend to get wind loading,” says Stone. “We’ll go and ski those in a really organized way with an action plan, and try to get those areas to pop.”
In this case, “pop” means to break loose and slide. Stone says that seeing it happen can be very satisfying, “especially when you read it right.”
Patrollers at Lost Trail are on the mountain long before most skiers have even started their drive, and have already covered the mountain from north to south by the time the parking lot starts to fill. Every day that Lost Trail is open, one of five Patrol ‘teams’ takes charge of mountain safety. Each team is comprised of 15 individuals who have all undergone the certification and training to be part of the National Ski Patrol. At Lost Trail, the vast majority of them are volunteers, donating their time and expertise to make skiing at Lost Trail safe and fun.
Dan Whitesitt has been a part of the Lost Trail Ski Patrol since he was in high school, and despite taking some time away during college, has still racked up 26 years working on the hill. He, like many of the others, describes Lost Trail’s Ski Patrol as a family in the way they gather both on and off the hill, and during other parts of the year.
“Once we put our skis away, we get our rafts out and are rafting together,” says Whitesitt. “We keep busy together.”
Whitesitt was also working with Jeff Motley to help run the toboggan exercises on chair 2, and described this year’s seven candidates as being a very strong group. He explains that prospective patrollers who seek to become members of LTSP are always a mixed group, but that he fully expects all seven to graduate to full membership, something that doesn’t always happen.
“It ends up being a lot more work than they planned on,” he explains, “a lot more time consuming.” Whitesitt says that the toboggan portion of their training alone requires 10 days of exercises on the mountain. Beyond that, there is an Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) course which requires classroom time as well as on-the-mountain emergency medical training. That training will end with a hands-on skills assessment during which each candidate will have a series of simulated medial emergencies to manage and prepare for transport.
“It’s a lot different doing it in the classroom than it is up here on the hill,” says Whitesitt, explaining that providing emergency care while thigh-deep in snow on a steep hillside can be a challenge. For that reason, the LTSP continues their training year round.
Stephanie Mapelli is the Assistant Patrol Representative and Treasurer for LTSP, and reiterates that the training requirements for candidates is rigorous, but imperative.
“When we say that when you fall you’ll be treated by the best equipped patrollers possible, we mean it,” says Mapelli. “Training is part of what we do.”
In return for Lost Trail Ski Patrol’s vigilance, they do have a few simple requests of the skiing public. One is that rope lines and closures be respected. As stated by Harry Stone, a lot of thought and education goes into deciding which parts of the mountain are safe for skiers, and ducking under rope lines puts multiple people in harm’s way. Not infrequently, it may be that patrollers themselves are doing avalanche mitigation work below the closed portion.
The second request should be a pleasure to comply with: attend the 2023 Lost Trail Ski Patrol Steak Fry, their annual fundraiser which will be held on the mountain on Saturday, February 25th. As always, patrons will enjoy live music, the torchlight parade down South Face (complete with fireworks again this year), as well as beer and wine, prizes and a raffle. The steak meal is available for a cost of $25, while those who prefer a burger can get that meal for $15. Dinner will get underway at 4:30, just enough time to slip out of those ski boots and into something ‘more comfortable.’
You can find more information on Lost Trail Ski Patrol and purchase advance tickets on their website: https://losttrailskipatrol.com.