Thinking about finally patrolling? Thoughts?

[brannen]

thinking of dropping the night jobs and finally getting a patrolling job.
questions
1. how much do you actually get to 'freeski'? will i be in uniform 5 days a week? i still want to beater down the gnar with some free time. do resorts hire part-time patrol, or are they all volunteers?
2. are certs the same everywhere? or different state to state, resort to resort, country to country? too lazy to research this right now if someone can answer it
3. how hard is it to get an exchange program or whatever? i want the ability to leave the country and get some work, is this reserved for the 'Upper classmen' or more experienced patrollers or open to anyone?
4. do you automatically become jaded and turn into an asshole? i would like to remain at my semi-asshole status
5. who gets to throw bombs? i wont be avy any level certified, but will be taking offered patrol classes? or level 1 & 2 this winter through AIARE. does patrol make Avy Level II part of training?
6. can i patrol on a mono ski? gnar-blades? these are my preferred avenues of snow sliding, so........yeah

want to get a feel for the overall happiness of patrollers on here. right now i am happy skiing 5 days a week, working shitty jobs and having fun but would like to get some 'professional' experience patrolling, possibly to look good on future guiding applications.

basically, are patrollers happy? or do you wish you were still a dirtbag 'bum' for a few more years?

[Meadow Skipper]

thinking of dropping the night jobs and finally getting a patrolling job.
questions
1. how much do you actually get to 'freeski'?

Depends, some days you are lucky to get a run or two in, others you can do pretty good, but you'll pretty much never get a full day in. On the days where you're busting ass the whole time on patients, fences and/or ropes, there's always sweep.

will i be in uniform 5 days a week?

Depends - some places work four 10s.

i still want to beater down the gnar with some free time.

Days off or keep your night job.

do resorts hire part-time patrol, or are they all volunteers?

Depends.

2. are certs the same everywhere? or different state to state, resort to resort, country to country? too lazy to research this right now if someone can answer it

resort to resort

3. how hard is it to get an exchange program or whatever? i want the ability to leave the country and get some work, is this reserved for the 'Upper classmen' or more experienced patrollers or open to anyone?

It's a really cool deal to get on an exchange, so you should just put it out of your rookie mind.

4. do you automatically become jaded and turn into an asshole? i would like to remain at my semi-asshole status

At first you strive for that. Hopefully sooner than later you get a clue and chill. No one likes an asshole patroller. Save it for the bar after work.

5. who gets to throw bombs?

See the answer to patrol exchanges

i wont be avy any level certified, but will be taking offered patrol classes? or level 1 & 2 this winter through AIARE. does patrol make Avy Level II part of training?

Some do.

6. can i patrol on a mono ski? gnar-blades? these are my preferred avenues of snow sliding, so........yeah

Absolutely.

want to get a feel for the overall happiness of patrollers on here. right now i am happy skiing 5 days a week, working shitty jobs and having fun but would like to get some 'professional' experience patrolling, possibly to look good on future guiding applications.

basically, are patrollers happy? or do you wish you were still a dirtbag 'bum' for a few more years?

I came to it after I retired from a fire job, so I can't answer that part. But I enjoy it.

[zion zig zag]

1. Highly resort dependent, if you work at Park City free skiing is probably rare. At other resorts, it's the rule. Weekends are busier of course, but weekdays are the best anyway. We've always tried to do the majority of the work on high pressure days. Pow days, we do what has to be done and ski as much as possible. It can be frustrating to have to sit at the top and wait for the next patroller to roll in, and honestly, rookies get taken advantage of, but you will still get in a lot of skiing. The other thing is you may not be on the good 'pow' lift on storm days and you may not be on the good 'gnar/hike to terrain' lift on sunny days, you just have to ski the terrain given to you, which will make you learn the mountain better than anyone.

2. different resort to resort.

3. depends, I've seen rookies go to New Zealand at our sister resort. We also do short 3-4 day exchanges with resorts all over the west, pretty easy to get in on some of those.

4. I've only pulled one ticket in 8 seasons. I've never been the uptight guy, I think I've always had a pretty good rapport with the locals and ski with most of them.

5. Resort dependent I'm sure, at my resort everyone throws. And they would encourage and help with your avy education.

I loved patrolling full time and occasionally miss it but I'm honestly happier doing it part time and working somewhere else. It gives me more days to tour. I did the opposite of Meadow Skipper, I went from full time patrolling to Fire.

[Sinecure]

If you're thinking of doing it in Tahoe, I'd suggest PMing fluffballs. He doesn't post here much any more, but he's worked at N* and Alpine, gets to throw bombs, has done exchange to other areas, and is a very cool guy.

You'd better sign up for an OEC class right now if you want to patrol this winter. Unless you're already an EMT or Paramedic.

[Bunion 2020]

2. are certs the same everywhere? or different state to state, resort to resort, country to country? too lazy to research this right now if someone can answer it

With that kind of attitude and initiative I can say with 100% certainty, please do not apply to my staff.

[zion zig zag]

With that kind of attitude and initiative I can say with 100% certainty, please do not apply to my staff.

Yeah, probably not the best thing to put out there. I wouldn't call 10 minutes with Google hard work.

[oreo]

You don't need to do an exchange to get a job overseas. It helps, but it's not essential. I've worked as a Patroller in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Never been involved in an exchange. Take advantage of working holiday visas, at least the first time - after that you can be sponsored if you pick the right resort.

[brannen]

With that kind of attitude and initiative I can say with 100% certainty, please do not apply to my staff.

4. do you automatically become jaded and turn into an asshole? i would like to remain at my semi-asshole status

i see you must be a patroller.

You don't need to do an exchange to get a job overseas. It helps, but it's not essential. I've worked as a Patroller in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada. Never been involved in an exchange. Take advantage of working holiday visas, at least the first time - after that you can be sponsored if you pick the right resort.

working holiday visas in europe would be bitchin!

good insight up top fellas, thanks.

as of now im leaning towards bummin one more season while getting my WFR, AVY I & II and possibly OEC starting in November.

Bunion - can I use you as a reference?

[Sinecure]

WFR won't help you in getting a patrol job. OEC will. They are similar in terms of the first aid parts. But WFR focuses much more on how to manually extract someone (patrollers have sleds, radios, snowmobiles, choppers, etc.), how to handle dealing with an injured person for extended periods of time, and other stuff you'd expect to need to know if you're out in the middle of nowhere.

[Bunion 2020]

i see you must be a patroller.

Much worse, Patrol Director

working holiday visas in europe would be bitchin!

good insight up top fellas, thanks.

as of now im leaning towards bummin one more season while getting my WFR, AVY I & II and possibly OEC starting in November.

Bunion - can I use you as a reference?

Please do, you will go far young Jedi.

[GrumpyPilot]

6. can i patrol on a mono ski? gnar-blades? these are my preferred avenues of snow sliding, so........yeah

Man, that would be awesome. I don't get enough laughs from watching the tourists trying to ski, that would indeed take the entertainment factor to a new level.

[covert]

i would mimic bunions reply and add that you ask a lot of stupid fucking questions. i think the NSP may be what you're looking for...of course the world needs ditch diggers too...

[Hugh Conway]

i would mimic bunions reply and add that you ask a lot of stupid fucking questions. i think the NSP may be what you're looking for...of course the world needs ditch diggers too...

fyi: brannen failed liftie school

[RegCT]

Please do, go far will you young Jedi.

FIFY

..sooo I'm pretty stoked on a full time patrol opportunity I've been after and am equipped only with a WFR. Planning on working my way up the cert ladder on a full time basis. Volunteer fire or county SAR, EMT, Avy, Explosives. I want to learn it all.

For patrolling, in my research I think a lot of how it goes down depends on the place and however the director gets their team together. Good luck though, bradda. Sounds like you want to bum it for another season. WFR was an awesome learning experience.

Did the lifty thing for two seasons and the instructor thing for one season in college. Never did the PSIA thing though. Being a lifty was actually pretty bad ass. Good times.

[Freuchen Icepick]

The proportion of hardasses on this thread probably approximates that of many actual locker rooms. Avoid those people. (Fortunately this is easy because those people can only ski the way of a letter carrier.)

Also, don't believe everything you hear, even the Patrol Director. I did research the medical cert bit once... I ended up going OEC, but you can take the WFR and "challenge" the OEC exam, which gets you an OEC cert (the minimum as far as I know).

Patrol differs place to place, so you'd be wise to pick a really good place.

[suburbs]

Shadow with a few different places, figure out where you fit in best.

Come hiring clinic season in the spring, they will remember the face that brought beer to the locker room a few times during the season.

[covert]

at it's most fundamental level ski patrolling requires a strong work ethic, the ability to act independently and demonstrate critical thinking skills. the op has demonstrated a lack of or unwillingness to demonstrate all three of these things. if that's hard-ass...so be it. doesn't sound like op wants to work at deer valley.

more appropriate questions might have been things like: which patrols do the most avalanche control? i believe bunion's is one. do some patrols get to ski more than others? yes. what do ski patrols look for in an applicant? see above...

the "helpful" replies to his questions can be summed up by "it depends." so there you go. if he legitimately thought all ski patrols were the same then i spoke hastily in my characterization of his questions as "fucking stupid." however, the comments on work ethic and critical thinking are self-evident.

if his motivation is to schralp the gnar, throw bombs and work in a foreign land i recommend applying as an apprentice warlord in the hindu kush. i hear they take the winter off so there will be plenty of free time to get after it.

this "do you automatically become jaded and turn into an asshole?" is a big fuck you to every patroller that reads it so...fuck you back son.

[powdork]

let me see if i understand. it is strong work ethic to search on google, but by asking here he is showing an unwillingness to work, a lack of independent thinking, and little to no critical thinking skills. hmmmm, seems strange.
i kind of got the impression that if the question about jaded assholes offended you, then you were who it was meant for.
just sayin'


and brannen, you may be able to get hired on at squaw, but if you want to work at the real mountains in tahoe (heavenly or n*), you're gonna have to get off the couch and get your fat ass in shape! ;-)

[covert]

let me see if i understand. it is strong work ethic to search on google, but by asking here he is showing an unwillingness to work, a lack of independent thinking, and little to no critical thinking skills. hmmmm, seems strange.
i kind of got the impression that if the question about jaded assholes offended you, then you were who it was meant for.
just sayin'


and brannen, you may be able to get hired on at squaw, but if you want to work at the real mountains in tahoe (heavenly or n*), you're gonna have to get off the couch and get your fat ass in shape! ;-)

10/4. i don't believe you do understand but it's not really an issue i'm willing to pursue further. good luck in your search brannen. i would recommend you stop describing yourself as lazy...

[Bunion 2020]

Bunion=typical patroller response

Typical response to a troll..... Or didn't you get that part?

[AKPogue]

Typical response to a troll..... Or didn't you get that part?

Is there a requirement to be a flaming liberal on your patrol?

[Meadow Skipper]

this "do you automatically become jaded and turn into an asshole?" is a big fuck you to every patroller that reads it so...fuck you back son.

You know how I know you're one?

[brannen]

wow

as far as certs go, i am getting a WFR either way, wanted to for awhile and it will bump my river guide pay, bonus! im also on injured reserve right now and wont be able to ski too hard until probably january so might just better myself and take AVY I for sure and maybe OEC and AVY II before then as well. was kind of wondering if WFR was enough though, as ive heard both yes and no.
liftie, hell no. i have way less responsibilities then that! and i work at night, leaving all day to um, well ski.
getting a patrol job isnt the hard part, so the original post was kind of seeing if anyone regretted their decision to do so. getting a rafting job kind of ruined the river thing as fun for me. i have plenty of friends who love patrolling and a few who dont. the normal reason for the ones who dont like it is their boss, i was trying to find other reasons.
as far as being lazy, isnt that what the internet is for? sure, this was going to be my only outlet of research and i was hoping to text message my application in, but lazy? especially in tahoe. id say there is a very good portion of people who work all summer and then collect unemployment all winter and just ski everyday. i think ill do this instead, where do i apply?
the whole JADED ASSHOLE thing was along the lines of patrolling in ski blades, so . .. .. . . . . . .

lastly, am i to concur that i shouldnt apply to a ski patrol and put such questions on my application?

. . . . .afterbang or whatever. . . . .

[Bunion 2020]

Is there a requirement to be a flaming liberal on your patrol?

Nope, just flaming will work fine.

@ Brannen.

Keep one thing in mind. Ski Patrolling is a job. It is a fun job most of the time but it is a job with responsibilities and consequences if you don't take it seriously. Too many people approach it with the concerns of "How much will I get to ski" rather than "How well will I do at this job."

I figure conservatively that over the span of my career I have been responsible for the safety of over a million skiers. I take pride in that and expect my staff members to share that philosophy.

want to get a feel for the overall happiness of patrollers on here. right now i am happy skiing 5 days a week, working shitty jobs and having fun but would like to get some 'professional' experience patrolling, possibly to look good on future guiding applications.

Sorry but these are not great reasons to try to do any job. If I were you I would stick to the night jobs and free skiing.

Best of luck

FWIW I enjoy my job and am happy doing it, this is year 26.

[Lakelander]

Your patrol experience will vary greatly depending not only the specific patrol but also on the specific team that makes up your shift. In general, the patrol experience is much more about providing great guest care, including a strong focus on/interest in OEC, than it is about skiing.