Snowbowl Ski Patrol

You Know You Want a New Pair of Skis

2011-12-07T20:43:00.001-08:00

Check it out...we're having a contest! Here's the deal: go get yourself a set of our sponsored license plates...You know, the really cool looking Ski and Board the Last Best Place plates you've been seeing all around Montana. Then go take a picture of you with your plate (or just your plate) and post it here (in the comments section), on our contest Facebook page or email it to skimtplate@snowbowlskipatrol.org.

The winner will be chosen at random from all of the entries and will walk away with a brand new pair of Liberty Double Helix skis (182cm). There will also be secondary prizes awarded (TBD) which will be chosen by the Snowbowl Ski Patrol members.

Show us your stuff!

Here We Go!!

2011-12-02T20:26:00.001-08:00

Just got word that the Griz chair is going to run Tomorrow and Sunday! Remember, early season conditions will exist; please respect any and all closures. Also, this probably is not the weekend to go ride on that brand new pair of skis or brand new board; let Ullr bless us with a bit more of the white fluff first.

See you out there!

Let the fun begin!

2011-11-18T13:10:00.001-08:00

Lookout Pass is open today and this weekend...here is a look at their conditions.

Lost Trail is reporting 15" of snow on the ground, Discovery says they have 12" on the ground up top and 8" at the base, and Snowbowl is reporting 14"up top and 8" at the base.

I also got word that Lolo Pass has some skiable spots (24" on the beargrass) that may be worth checking out too. As always, ski and ride with care; early season conditions are in full effect!

Groomer

2011-11-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

November 17th, 2011 Special tasting of Groomer
The debut of Bayern's new beer 'Groomer" to celebrate the Bowl's fiftieth anniversary.
4-6 pm at Bayern Brewery

Winter is coming fast.

2011-11-13T16:25:00.000-08:00

Looks like Mother Nature is serving up a big heaping load of early season snow for us here in west central Montana. SNOTEL sites are recording in the double digits: http://www.missoulaavalanche.org/2011/11/november-13-2011-update/

Remember, if it's steep enough and deep enough to ski, it can avalanche!

Please be aware during these early winter months. Now would be a great time to look into taking an avalanche class to learn something new or to refresh what you may already know. We all get a bit rusty during the off-season.

Really? You can go to jail for that?

2011-10-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

Just came across this article on Lou Dawson's blog (wildsnow.com) and thought I'd share. Food for thought; what do you think?

http://www.wildsnow.com/6084/avalanche-death-conviction/

And So It Begins

2011-10-07T12:41:00.001-07:00

Just saw on the interwebs that Wolf Creek ski area in Colorado will be open tomorrow! That's right, according to their website they just picked up 36" from a recent storm.

Check out their website...

And their webcam...and

Pray for snow!

It's that time of year again...

2011-10-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure about you but as soon as the weather starts to cool off and the rain becomes more frequent; as the wildfires begin to flicker out and the smoke clears out of the air in the valley; I find myself gazing toward Snowbowl more often. I can't help myself, I keep thinking about all the snow that has yet to start flying. My mind wanders back to seasons past and I begin to feel a sense of giddyness that typically happens with the anticipation of floating effortlessly through the latest offering from Ullr; when you feel snow flying into your face and coating the inside of your collar.

It's almost Winter!

Ullr smiled on us last season...he was pleased with the scent of Burning Dog and the collective energy of a few hundred hardcore skiers and boarders rallying around a fire at Big Sky Brewing Co. watching gratuitous powder scenes presented by none other than the Powderwhores themselves. Does this time of year get any better? Only when it starts snowing, I guess.

What are your goals for this winter? Will you sign up for the next harder level of lessons? Learn more about back country travel? Purchase your first transceiver, probe, and shovel (and learn how to use them)? Will you ski steeper lines, drop bigger cliffs? Or will you teach the next generation about your love of the lifestyle and take your kid(s) skiing for the first time?

I call it a lifestyle because for so many of us, skiing is so much more than a "sport" or an "activity." We are not only skiers when there is snow on the ground, we find ourselves looking at possible skiable lines in the middle of summer. We skip down trails thinking about skiing a line of moguls. When we are inundated with smoke from wildfires and the temperature is topping 95 degrees, we daydream about that one incredibly deep day last season and feel a shiver. Skiing gets into you mind, heart, and soul. It helps us identify ourselves and connects us to other like-minded individuals who share our passion for this lifestyle.

I'm a skier.

Season Closer

2011-04-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

I hate to admit it but this season is almost over. Bummer. So, to honor the 2010/2011 season, I feel like we should do a quick recap. Lets see...

Earliest opening I can remember. Only E. Bowl, W. Bowl, and Griz Chute are closed on opening day; everything else is open. Lift evacs. Snow, snow, more snow. Holiday season. More snow. Post holiday skiing, more snow. Late searches and off area avalanches. Snowmobile craps out. Lift evacs, more snow. Getting close to spring...oh, right, more snow. Mid week dumps, more snow! Weather warming up? Nope, more snow. February snow depth at the top of the mountain: 110"...and counting! More snow. Wind events...then more snow. Warmer weather finally. Sunshine! And finally we are approaching the last weekend of operations for the season (two extra weekends of bonus skiing). Forecast...you guessed it, more snow!

This has been a pretty awesome snow year for us here in Missoula. It's a good thing Ullr was paying attention when we burned the effigy of the dog at the brewery in the fall. We head into the close of lift accessed skiing with over 110" of base at the top of the mountain which is somewhere in the area of 170% of normal snowpack for this time of year. Spring back country laps are going to be more pow than corn and runoff looks like it's going to be epic!

Thanks to all of the Bowlheads for a great season. Thanks Brad and Ronnie; the lifties, Pat and all of the maintenance guys who make a great season like this possible. Thanks Garland and friends in the Last Run Inn for keeping us thoroughly hydrated this season.

Thank you Snowbowl!

(did I miss anything/anyone?)

Think First!

2011-03-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, I agree...lift evacuations suck! It is not fun for skiing public to be stuck on the lift nor is it an enjoyable task for patrol to rope everyone down. Yesterday the Griz chair stopped running for about an hour and we got to evacuating everyone as soon as we got the call. On my way hiking from the bottom with my rope team, I got to about tower 3 when what did I see with my own two eyes? I watched two skiers jump from their chair! It looked like maybe a father and (young) son team.

To everyone who reads this post, please read carefully. Jumping from the chair is not only stupid, it is also potentially dangerous! When the stopped chairs are suddenly unweighted, they spring back up and swing pretty wildly. This swinging-bouncing combination can derail the lift. So, to the father-son daredevils...please exercise common sense and patience in the future! you could have injured yourselves in the fall you took (which would have taken several patrollers away from getting everyone else off the lift) OR, you could have derailed the lift and potentially injured yourselves AND the 8 or so other skiers on your stretch of cable; thus leading to what we call a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) similar to the lift derail that recently happened in Maine.

Please, exercise patience and restraint. We appreciate your patience!

It's Been a While...

2011-02-11T13:22:00.001-08:00

So, it's been some time since I last posted anything. Sorry about that.

There is tons of snow up at the Bowl. Last I looked, they were reporting a base of 109"! Skiing is great and looks like the temperature is going to warm up. Hopefully this will help stabilize the new load of snow we received earlier this week. The avalanche center is still reporting the avalanche hazard as Considerable in the high country so please continue to exercise caution in your travels.

This weekend we will be wrapping up our NSP Level I avalanche class with some snow pit analysis, transceiver practice, and a mock avalanche scenario. Shouldn't be too hard to find a debris pile in the meadows on Saturday; the Pros got a lot of slabs to rip out with their control work.

Anyway, have fun out there playing in all the snow that Ullr has treated us with this year.

Please Ski Safely!

2010-12-30T20:20:00.001-08:00

This season has provided us with incredible amounts of snow which makes for great skiing and riding opportunities. With these opportunities there is often significant risk. Yesterday some skiers were out of bounds at Snowbowl and were caught in a slide...they are pretty lucky! A skier at Discovery was killed when he hit a tree.

Today I read that a 16 year-old is in critical condition after he was pulled from a tree well up at Big Mountain. Check this out for tree well safety: http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com/index.php

Avy conditions are dangerous right now with an avalanche warning in effect for the mountains of west central Montana. Seriously folks...please play it safe when you head out to ski or ride.

Who Loves the K-Hole?

2010-12-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

The Kettlehouse Brewery here in Missoula rocks! Plain and simple. They work with local agencies, businesses, and non-profits to raise funds through pint nights at the K-Hole North. In fact, on January 26th, a portion of every pint of beer purchased (I think it's $0.50 per pint) goes to the Snowbowl Pro Patrol to help them upgrade some of their well used equipment. Hey, these guys are out there EVEY DAY OF THE SEASON doing maintenance, marking obstacles, fixing rope/fence lines, assessing snow/avalanche conditions, evacuating you all off the lift when it stops running, and much, much more! For Pete's sake...go drink a few pints on the 26th to show your support for these guys (and gal) who work hard to keep the skiing public safe. Next time you need a toboggan ride off the hill, you'll be glad you did!

Pictorial Atlas of Freezing Cold Injury

2010-12-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

So, the time of year has come around again where we need to put more thought into cold injuries. I was recently sent a pretty cool military article on cold injuries and as the title states, it has some pictures...some of which are pretty gruesome! Give it a look; let me know what you think. The hand on page 588 is particularly gnarly looking!

http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/published_volumes/harshEnv1/Atlas.pdf

Opening Day Madness

2010-11-27T19:30:00.000-08:00

Today's opening of the bowl signaled the craziness that is the holiday season at ski areas. People were in the lift line (at least 10-15 people deep) long before we got up there to load up and open the mountain. For good reason too; we had some of the best opening day riding conditions I have seen in the last two seasons. I think we were reporting 33 or 34 inches at the top of the mountain...blower powder! Only catch was, there was no base...and by no base, I mean there was only 33 or 34 inches on the mountain. Made for some interesting skiing and riding; especially when you could find little pockets of wind blown snow. I hear some places were chest deep!

Thank you to all of the candidates who helped out this morning; thanks to all the pros and volunteers who toiled yesterday to get 80% of the opening setup finished. When all was said and done, we had a couple (2 maybe) courtesy rides, one knee injury, and the Griz chair broke down for over an hour (nice work to the one patroller who had his self evac gear!). All of you smart enough (or lucky enough) to stay up top during lunch had the mountain to yourself for a while while others were being evacuated off the lower lift. Not bad for an opening day. Oh yeah, and only 3 runs on the entire mountain were closed today. Thank you Ullr!!

OPENING DAY!!!!!

2010-11-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

Looks like we are opening Saturday the 27th of November. If this is your day, be ready to go. If this isn't your scheduled day, come on up anyway, help get the mountain ready to go and burn off some Turkey! All of you new candidates and transfers are welcome too!

This is the earliest opening day in years!

See you up there!

Our Patrol in the Paper

2010-10-26T20:48:00.001-07:00

Check this out:

http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_095bb4de-de61-11df-baa6-001cc4c03286.html

The Missoulian did a story on our new license plate for the front page of Saturday's paper. Cool! Now go on and but a set of these plates for your car...go on, you know you want to.

Refresher-licious

2010-09-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

This year's refresher has come and gone. We had a great group of individuals in attendance including the vast majority of our candidate class, several transfers, and a couple of patrollers from other patrols (Vermont patrols were well represented today as was a Wisconsin patrol).

HUGE shout out to Marty for putting all this together!!! Also, thanks so much to all of our wonderful candidates for volunteering to be patients...you guys were great! And a big thanks to all of our instructors for helping us remember all the stuff we have forgotten or become rusty on. Josh, thanks to you and to City Life Center for the excellent venue and the delicious lunches.

Remember, if you did not get Marty your feedback forms please do so ASAP so he doesn't have to hold your OEC cards hostage any longer.

Think snow...lots and lots of snow!

2010/2011 Season is Here! (almost)

2010-09-11T19:32:00.001-07:00

Well, I think it's fair to say; winter is here.

Ok, not really but it is definitely time to begin thinking about winter. I hear Kerlee Lake got a little snow over the Labor Day weekend. And what better way to begin thinking about winter than to meet and greet our newest candidate class. Eric and Katrina hosted patrolers and candidates for a little shindig so we could get to know each other (thanks you two). Seems like there is a lot of great energy in this new class. I can't wait to work with them on their OEC and Skiing/Boarding/Toboggan skills! Maybe that's why I'm so ready for winter...I keep thinking about skiing.

The latest news I've heard is that NOAA is predicting a La Nina cycle to persist throughout the winter...you know what this means right? WOO HOO! Let it snow!!

What Does Drowning Look Like?

2010-07-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

I just received this article about drowning and wanted to pass it along to everyone. Apparently we are conditioned to think people drown the way television and movies portray it...not so according to this article. This is a must read for any rescue professional and the general public.

http://mariovittone.com/2010/05/154/

Refresher Time

2010-07-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

The time of the year has come when we all should be starting to think about this year's refresher. The latest Patrol magazine is out and in it is the Cycle C Refresher Guide as well as the You Are the Rescuer packet. If you did not receive a copy of the magazine, do not fret. You can click on the links above to take you to a PDF of these documents or click here to go directly to the NSP website where you will also find copies of this year's refresher guide. No excuses for not being able to find these documents now! Study up...you got a few months. Studying now will also help you (and me) get ready to do a little teaching for our incoming OEC class. Last I heard, there will be a "welcome and introductions" party at our esteemed Patrol Director's house on Thursday September 9th with the class beginning Monday September 13th. If this changes, I will make sure to post the change here. Hope you all are enjoying your summer...get out there and enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts!

New License Plates Now Available

2010-07-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

Despite travelling the world, our esteemed leader has just informed me that our license plate design has been fully accepted and was released starting July 1st. So, head on down to your local Motor Vehicles Division office and pick up a set for your car. The initial fee for the plate is $20 and $20 each year for a renewal fee. And on behalf of the Snowbowl Volunteer Ski Patrol...Thank you!

Check it out...you know you want one!

Pengelly Double Dip

2010-06-04T13:06:00.002-07:00

Missoula will again be putting on the Pengelly Double Dip (and Single Dip) foot race on June 12th. The race began as a fundraiser for the Missoula Youth Homes and is now organized by Run Wild Missoula which encourages entrants to contribute generously to Missoula Youth Homes. Runners can choose to do the Double Dip ("a tall half marathon") or the Single Dip (a "short and sweet 10k"). Check out their website to enter:

www.runwildmissoula.org

Anyway...members of the Snowbowl Ski Patrol will be on site as first responders. We really love doing what we can to help the Missoula community during these events! See you all out there.

2010 BBQ

2010-05-24T12:30:00.001-07:00

Well, despite the rain and wind that threatened to put a damper on the end of the season BBQ, we were not deterred!hanks again Buchers for hosting this event.

Several members started us out by getting creative and making use of those old, straight skis left over from the SOS fair. Can't wait to see these up at the Warming Hut!

This year saw Neil M. awarded patroller of the year; congrats Neil!

Casey M. had some tough competition for Golden Goat but pulled it off with not one but two nominations (man, you were busy this season!).

Pat C., one of our paid patrollers, was awarded the Silver Snowmobile award just for being himself and having the most potential to wreck/damage the snow mobile (nice work Pat).

Marty M was awarded for 25 years of service with the National Ski Patrol!

Steve T was awarded for a whopping 50 years of service with the National Ski Patrol! Congrats to both of you on your commitment and dedication to the National Ski Patrol.

Not sure where this cake came from but it's pretty cool looking!

How do I post to this blog?

2010-05-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

If there is any patroller interested in contributing posts to this blog, let Eric know and he will send you an invitation. The one requirement is you have to have a gmail account to be a contributing author.

You do not however, need to have a gmail account to post a comment. To leave a comment on a post, click on the "comments" link near the bottom of the post you wish to comment on. Then write your comment and in the drop down menu where is asks you to select a profile, put your name ( I have chosen to use my first name and patrol # - Matt253) and leave the URL spot empty. That should do it. Have fun and happy blogging!

OEC Planning Meeting

2010-05-10T19:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday May 13th 6:30 PM
City Life Center
1515 Fairview Avenue

For all interested patrollers, especially instructors, we are gathering to discuss next season's upcoming candidate training and OEC class.

Hope to see you there!

The New Website is Live!

2010-05-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

Good news everyone...our new website is now live online. The address and the password for the members only area have not changed; go check it out:

http://www.snowbowlskipatrol.org/

Want to help with first aid at another foot race?

2010-05-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

The organizers of the Pengelly Double Dip are looking for a few (probably 2 or three) ski patrollers willing to help out with first aid on Saturday June 12th. If you are interested, please contact Matt ASAP. The race starts at 8 am and will go until about 2 pm. Here is a link to the race web site:

http://www.runwildmissoula.org/index.php/ID/20f0b735/race/Pengelly-Double-and-Single-Dip/fuseaction/rwm.clubRaces.htm

What is Raynaud's Syndrome you ask?

2010-05-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

Raynaud's Syndrome is a circulation disorder which affects the blood vessels causing then to spasm when exposed to temperature changes. This spasm of the vessels causes the blood supply to the extremities (especially the fingers and toes) to diminish turning the skin in the affected areas white, yellow-ish, then eventually blue due to prolonged lack of oxygen. When the blood vessels open back up and allow blood to rush back into the affected areas, the skin flushes and turns red. There are a number of different treatments for this syndrome, most of which include preventing the extremities from temperature changes (keep warm). That's it in a nutshell. Here is a Q & A article about Raynaud's from the NY Times:

http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/how-serious-is-raynauds-phenomenon/?hpw

Enjoy!

License Plate Update

2010-05-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

Hey all, the word on the street is that the powers-that-be have approved our license plate design. Our esteemed patrol director will be signing the appropriate paperwork and submitting it soon. Below is the approved version of the plate after some changes were made at the request of the MT Highway Patrol. Look for these plates at your local Driver Services Department starting July 1st, 2010!

Bigger, better, badder, and more user-friendly!

2010-04-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, there has been a slight change in our blog. First and foremost, the web address is now

http://mtsnowbowlskipatrol.blogspot.com

Next, I will be updating our photo site and will likely be dropping Flickr. The reasons for this change are that I didn't think this through all the way before I began and I had set up most of this stuff under my own email addresses. Not so good for when this gets handed off to someone else. So now our gmail, this blog, and our yet to be created photo site will all have the same log in and password for increased user-friendliness. I know this may seem confusing...bear with me and it will all work out in the end.

Wow, so much has been accomplished!

2010-04-24T15:42:00.001-07:00

So I just sent our esteemed PD a draft version of the new website (most of it is there) and just invited him to begin posting on this blog. Now...what's next? Oh yeah, finish the website, and open up a Flickr account to begin compiling our multitude of memories for all the world to see. I hope they all think we are as cool as we think we are!

Also, here is the link to the page that I used to build my Adirondack Chairs.

http://pages.areaguides.com/ubuild/AdirondackChairs.htm

Website renovation is underway!

2010-04-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Leigh and I have been furiously working on creating a new and improved, updated, modernized, beautiful website for our patrol. As soon as we get a bit further along and upload it to the server, we'll send an invitation around for you all to check it out. Stay tuned...

End of the Year Party

2010-04-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Remember we decided at the final meeting of the season that the end of the year BBQ will be held on May 8th at the Buchers. This will be a potluck so bring something to share and Neil will be providing a pig for our eating enjoyment (thanks Neil!).

There was talk of building ski chairs before the party ramps up and we become incapable of safely handling power tools so if you want to build a chair, come around 10:30. This is a BYO materials event. I will post a link to a chair building template soon...

Welcome to the Snowbowl Ski Patrol Blog

2010-04-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

Hey there everyone, this is my first foray into the world of blogging. My hope is to create a blog as a useful resource for all of the members of the Snowbowl Ski Patrol. I'll be including stuff like current events, upcoming events, photos, announcements, breaking news, weather, avy conditions, and other time sensitive information.