John B. Cameron - Ski Patrol in Colorado

Images of Modern America

SKI PATROL

IN COLORADO

FRONT COVER: Handler Chris Mongo Reeder rides a chairlift with Vail Mountains first avalanche rescue dog, Henry. (Courtesy of Vail Resorts.)

UPPER BACK COVER: After World War II, members of the 10th Mountain Division who trained in Colorado returned to the state and used their expertise to work as ski patrollers in the growing ski industry. (Courtesy of National Ski Patrol.)

LOWER BACK COVER (from left to right): Patrollers at Vail Mountain enjoy worldwide media attention that arrived in 1990 (courtesy of Vail Resorts); Mark Campo Campian inspects an artillery round destined for the East Wall of Arapahoe Basin (courtesy of Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol); Monarch Ski Patrol is pictured in front of the A-frame building that served as patrol headquarters in 1986 (courtesy of Deborah Davies).

Images of Modern America

SKI PATROL
IN COLORADO

JOHN B. CAMERON
AND ERIC D. MILLER

Copyright 2018 by John B. Cameron and Eric D. Miller
ISBN 978-1-4671-0251-3
Ebook ISBN 9781439665848

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018942671

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This book is dedicated to the hardworking women and men of the ski patrol.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Ski Patrol in Colorado would not be possible without the generous contributions of many individuals, organizations, ski areas, and museums that graciously shared their time, stories, and photographs for this book.

Deserving of special thanks are Scott Pressly, Caswell Rico-Silver, Rich Moorhead, Zach Moore, Miles Porter V, Mark Walker, and the Friends of Monarch Ski Patrol for their encouragement and willingness to help get this project started. They provided not only photographs but helped identify many of the people, places, and locations therein. Special thanks are in order for Tony Cammarata of Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol and Adrienne Saia of A-Basin who went out of their way to provide both historic and contemporary photographs of Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol. I am grateful to all the members of the Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol for their encouragement and motivation during the process of writing and editing this collection.

Unless otherwise noted, the images in this book are from the authors collection. Additional images appear courtesy of Vail Resorts photograph archive, Monarch Mountain, National Ski Patrol (NSP), Aspen Historical Society, Tread of Pioneers Museum, the Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame in Vail, Matt Krane, Deborah Davies, Wolf Creek Ski Area, Purgatory Resort, Eric Miller, Arapahoe Basin Ski Patrol, or Telluride Ski Resort.

I would like to especially thank Deborah Davies for sharing her photographs of Monarch Mountain and stories of Conquistador Ski Area, Jordan Halter for providing generous access to Vail Resorts photograph archives, and Candace Horgan of the National Ski Patrol for her help, research, and access to the NSP photograph archives.

Also, I am grateful that Matt Krane generously shared his personal collection of slides from Breckenridge Ski Resort.

This book would not have been possible without the historical societies and organizations around Colorado that work to preserve mountain culture and history. The Colorado Snowsports Museum and Hall of Fame in Vail, Aspen Historical Society, and the Tread of Pioneers Museum in Steamboat Springs all provided access to photographs.

I would like to thank Liz Gurley and the rest of the editorial staff at Arcadia Publishing for their guidance and expertise.

Thanks to Eric Miller, whose vision was solely responsible for initiating this project. Special thanks for support from both friends and family including Ryan, Garrett, Benjamin, and Haley Rush-Miller; Erin Miller Hughes; David and Joretta Miller; Hannah Skaggs Rush-Miller; and Renee Rush-Miller.

Special thanks to Keith Rush, Art Evans, Geoff Knechtel, Casey Shifflet, Nick Shifflet, Phyllis OGrady, Glen Plake, Warren Miller, Chris Anthony, Loren McQueen, Jack Cameron, and Tammy Cameron.

Lastly, I am especially grateful for the unwavering love and patience of my wife, Julie Anderson, and my kids Jackson and Sierra.

John Cameron

INTRODUCTION

This book is about the thousands of men and women in Colorado who work to ensure the safety of skiers and snowboarders and other guests at Colorado ski areas. The work of a patroller is nuanced, demanding, and often goes unseen. They arrive around sunrise as the first ones on the mountain and are the last ones off.

Patrollers in Colorado arrive from many directions. Some come with college degrees, abandoning one direction to find themselves fully committing to a life orchestrated by the seasons. They are all professionals.

On the mountain, they are lifesavers. The iconic white cross emblazoned on their worn uniform jackets distinguish them from others on the mountain.

They are trained to the same high standards of emergency medical responders on city streets and can provide that care anywhere on the mountain regardless of terrain or weather.

Patrollers are also ambassadors of the mountain lifestyle. They ski more than almost anyone else during the winter, beginning when there is just barely enough snow to cover the rocks and on through the deepest snowstorms. Ski patrollers in Colorado are frequently in avalanche terrain. The most dangerous part of the job requires skiing onto slopes to dislodge avalanches while carrying explosives intended to be ignited by hand and used to dislodge even bigger avalanches. They move together in small groups and watch out for each other. For that reason, patrollers are a close-knit group.

Patrol headquarters and high mountain outposts where they stop to dry their gloves and slurp bad coffee become steeped with tradition. Often, the walls are covered with photographs, and stories are told and retold regardless of how many times they have been shared.

Stories of ski patrolling in Colorado go back many decades, to when the modern ski industry was just in its infancy. Small alpine ski hills with simple rope tows began to open for business around the state. Howelson Hill near Steamboat Springs, the oldest continuously operated ski area in Colorado, opened in 1914 as a ski-jumping area. Following closely behind were Loveland Ski Area, which opened in 1936, Wolf Creek Ski Area in 1938, and Monarch Mountain in 1939.

The years after World War II saw a boom in recreational skiing. As the industry grew, skiers were offered more services like new lifts and base area amenities. With an increase in visitors came an increased need to be able to respond in case of an emergency.

Since the early days of volunteer patrols, the job of ski patrolling has become ever more demanding as it has moved toward a professional position.

An experienced ski patroller is certified in emergency medicine, avalanche rescue, and weather forecasting; competent in high-angle rescue and technical rope rigging; capable of making repairs to equipment; an expert skier; trained in guest services; able to conduct accident investigations; and may be a staff trainer, a dog handler, and dispatcher all in the same day.

Over the years, as technology and ski areas have changed, ski patrol organizations have adapted but have been unwavering in their dedication to service and safety.