I enjoyed a special opportunity today and tagged along with patrol on an avalanche control route at Remarkables. First thing was to get up wicked early and drive the just-plowed road in the dark, while talking about conditions, sharing the forecast, and planning what routes are likely to need avalanche mitigation. We suited up in the patrol HQ, then got a boost up near our targets from the snowmobile and skinned up from there. We found definite loading in a couple chutes. The slabs of snow built up from all the blowing snow had to be cut loose before they got too big and could run down into the base area, possibly hitting buildings and a lift tower. This is just a part of ski patrol's main duty: making the hill safe for punters to go out and huck their meat. They're not cops on skis. They mitigate hazards that the mountain presents to the public and educate guests how to be safe and courteous to others on the slope. Check out this video of a friend who patrols at Copper, extolling the benefits (and challenges) of his job:
Many Thanks to Remarkables Ski Patrol for showing me around! Here are a couple more pics from that morning:
1 comment:
wow!
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