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Idaho law sets a minimum standard for ski patrol training. But some ski areas are hiring patrollers with additional training to provide more extensive medical care to injured skiers and snowboarders.
Idaho ski areas are required by state law "to provide a ski patrol with qualifications meeting the standards of the national ski patrol system." So at a minimum, all ski patrollers in Idaho must have training equal to the NSP's Outdoor Emergency Care training course. But ski patrols don't have to be affiliated with NSP, said Scott Eskelson, legal adviser for the NSP's Intermountain Division and a ski patroller at Kelly Canyon, near Ririe.
At Sun Valley, while all ski patrollers are NSP-affiliated, 14 are also part-time paramedics.
"They can give pain meds on the hill," said Mike Lloyd, ski patrol director for Sun Valley. "It's just an added care for the sick and injured."
At Tamarack, the ski patrol remains affiliated with NSP, and also functions as its own medical services agency. In that case, 90 percent of the patrollers were already EMTs, and to retain their certification, they needed to be affiliated with an EMS agency.
"So we became one," said Mike Lancaster, ski patrol director at Tamarack. "We can do some more advanced patient care on the mountain that you couldn't do under the OEC training."
For decades, ski hills have relied on a corps of NSP-trained volunteer ski patrollers - along with some paid patrollers - to provide first aid services to skiers and snowboarders. These uniformly trained volunteers provide a low-cost way for resorts to keep their guests safe.
NSP's OEC course is similar to an EMT certification course. It teaches participants how to evaluate and stabilize a patient - including lifting a patient and removing gear without exacerbating injuries - in a nonurban environment. The course is oriented toward ski and snowboard injuries...