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Diary of a Ski Patrolman: Week 6

January 10-13

by Josh Allen

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Credit: Josh Allen

Credit: Josh Allen

Credit: Josh Allen

Monday
Skiing a patient down in a toboggan is no easy task. It often times involves some pleasant, fiery burning in my legs and reduces my biceps to wet noodles. But it's all worth it, to make sure my patient is safe. So, since it's just not hard enough, let's throw in some moguls!

Yep, that's what I was introduced to on Monday morning. Moguls that were just about as hard as cement. Or maybe titanium. Either way, I was simply thrilled to be placed in front of a toboggan with a fellow patroller in it, hanging on for dear life. I think he was hanging on so tightly because he knew this would end badly for one of us. Or both.

The technique is different — I was facing sideways, with only one hand on the handle, and the other on the crossbar of the toboggan. It's hard to picture, I am sure, so just imagine driving your car, but sitting in the passenger seat, and using one hand. That's sort of what it was like, but then throw in terrible lower back pain on one side. That's more like it. Oh, and half the time I was skiing backwards, without looking in that direction, hoping that the mogul behind me wouldn't catch the back of my skis and flip me over. Surprisingly, I didn't get run over by the toboggan, or send my passenger flying down the rest of the trail. It actually went pretty well, and now that I've got the hang of it, or so I like to think, I find it really fun. But still really painful. I see it like this: if I'm in pain and my patient is in less pain because of it, then it's a good thing. So bring on the moguls, I'm ready!

Tuesday
I skied more moguls today, and tried to build up some endurance. I accomplished something: I made my right arm so tired, as if it could only lift a pebble if I tried really hard. And then in the afternoon, I got the chance to use it for something way better. Chest compressions! Luckily, this was a CPR training operation. Unluckily, it meant supporting all of my weight on one arm, in a toboggan racing down the hill, all the while straddling my "patient," and trying not to be too awkward.

Just before we left, I got the reassuring comment from a veteran that "Don't worry, a few patrollers have fallen out during this type of practice." Great, so I'm ready to be the next! We were doing CPR on a "patient," while traveling down a steep incline, with five patrollers all operating as one life support system. One patroller steers the toboggan in front, two are behind as tail-ropers, who end up taking the weight and getting a wicked forearm workout, and two are in the actual toboggan, awkwardly placed over and around the patient, providing rescue breathing and compressions. It's pretty amazing, once I took a step back and absorbed just what we were doing.

Essentially, we were a mobile ambulance, but without all the fancy gadgets and beeping. We had our own beeps, I guess, as in when we felt ourselves just about to topple out of the sled. But once again, just like in the moguls, everything came together, and no one ended up careening down the hill unchecked. It feels pretty darn good to know I can assist on a mobile CPR incident, if we have one. And I feel even better knowing that my fellow patrollers can do it, too. It takes a lot of coordination and strength, but it's worth all the effort if we can save someone who otherwise might not make it down the slope.