SO YOU WANT TO BE A SKI PATROLLER?

    “OK, so let’s start by introducing ourselves. Tell everyone who you are, a bit about yourself and why you want to be a ski patroller”
    

    Why I wanted to be a ski patroller? Hmmm? I knew why. At least I thought I did. I was just finding it difficult to put into words. 
    

    To help people? To meet people? To get some medical training so I could help my friends if it ever went horribly wrong in the middle of nowhere? So I could wear one of those cool red vests with a big cross on the back? So there’d be one more snowboarder on the patrol? So that I could be first on the lift in the morning? For the beer? 

    I was asked this question a lot during my training and never perfected my answer. Now that I’ve done it, I can tell you which reasons don’t matter to me anymore and I can tell you why I’ll carry on doing it, but those are two very different questions. I don't do it for the free midweek season pass I can tell you that much. 

    And why will I continue to patrol I hear you ask? Simple. The people. I’ll be forever linked to this diverse, slightly odd bunch of characters and eccentrics until the day I die. And I have absolutely no problem with that.

    Joining the Loveland Volunteer Ski Patrol is without a doubt, one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. It was hard going at times and still has its moments, but if I had my time over I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

This article is dedicated to the memories of Sandy Chapman and Grace Rose Stem.