Mt. Bachelor Ski Patrol prepares for snow season

Many of the people who enjoy the slopes at Mt. Bachelor probably don’t realize how much training the Ski Patrol medics undergo to make sure they are doing everything right to help a patient, when something goes wrong.

The Mt. Bachelor National Ski Patrol concluded its two day training session on Mt. Bachelor on Sunday. The training consisted of everyday scenarios on what ski patrol volunteers might go through while working on the mountain.

This group is training in high-performance CPR, which is a first in Deschutes County.

The training gets the group of people ready for what type of scenarios they will face while patrolling.

“We need to know how things work on the mountain in order to interact with other employees on the mountain,” Patrol Director Alan Engle said Sunday.

The training included how to rescue skiers off chairlifts, treat leg injuries and render first aid.

The volunteers train year-round to keep their skills intact so they can be prepared in every situation, Engle said.

The 75 volunteers also help set up the mountain, making it safe for people to ski.

“We provide safety. We try to make sure that people are doing the appropriate things at the appropriate place,” Engle said. “That they’re not going really fast in slow areas, they are not jumping over trails where people are skiing.”

He said he wants his team to use all techniques when evaluating a situation.

The ski patrol will be hitting the slopes when the mountain opens, which could be after Thanksgiving, depending on snow conditions.

For more information on the Ski Patrol or how you can help, please visit their website at www.mtbachelornsp.org.