Eager, Ready to Learn in How Ski Patrol Broke Me

It’s hard to explain the feeling you get when the phone rings on September first. I knew the call was coming and I was in the middle of my landscaping job when it finally arrived. I had to put my tools down, wipe my hands on my bare legs, and answer with speaker-phone. It had been a very messy day. A man named B greeted me with a very enthusiastic “hello!” I inhaled deeply and thought about the pressure of taking my national emergency medical technician (NREMT) exam the day before. I did not know, yet, if I had passed. The NREMT was required for the ski patrol position I was being offered. I gladly accepted the position B offered and, with a smile, finished my work very strong that day. Knowing that I was moving on to bigger and better careers made me exuberant!

Soon after my job offer, we had 4 days of “refresher” training. The refresher part was for the returning ski patrollers, some of which had been there for over ten years. For the group of us rookies, the refresher was a massive introduction into the life of a ski patroller. A few other rookies had been in my EMT class and we had bonded during the summer. The snow came early and we had already gone skiing in the backcountry by mid-November. Life was seemingly good and each day I was smiling with new enthusiasm. I felt like a new person and the opportunity for the future seemed to be emanating vibrantly.

I was 29 years old and felt like one of the older rookies ( but was by far, not the eldest ). Prior to ski patrol, I had worked as a ski and snowboard instructor for nearly 10 years. I had many injuries that required time off, but otherwise, I had been in the industry for a while. I was excited because I understood the flow of mountain operations and had even finished two different high-angle rescue classes prior to ski patrol. I felt like I had a well-rounded experience that could be well-utilized and spread evenly on the ski patrol team. I also had 9-1-1 dispatch training that I felt would assist in ski patrol dispatch. Key* was big enough that patrol dispatch was a paid position. The future appeared bright.

Our position as rookie ski patrollers began late November. We were required to memorize the guest map, our personal patrol map, and other entities about the resort we were at. We spent four days a week on snow and in the classroom learning, testing, and exhausting ourselves. Until we passed all of our exams, during week 6, we were required to wear blue jackets over our red jackets. This was the worse part of training but made you feel good about earning “the red.” There were ups and downs during rookie training and days that made you want to go home and curl up in bed. There were days that were incredibly fun and enjoyable. There were days you broke down and felt like crying. All of us cycled through a tough cold and eventually came out, in red, happy as a cucumber.

Two weeks had gone by and I had met a very kind guy named W and had gone on a few dates. I really liked him, my job, my living situation, and everything else. My very first patient was a doozy and really got me stoked on what was to come. If somebody was going to be sick or injured, I was so glad I could be the person to assist. On a very cold January day, something felt very off. I thought it was the cold and illness that had passed through the crew. W didn’t work this day and I was excited to work and go visit him after.

What I didn’t know was that I wouldn’t be going home that night or to see W*. I didn’t know that I would end up in a position I didn’t bank on and that ended up tearing apart my future. I was determined to not allow it to destroy me, but others weren’t on that same page.