CLEAR CREEK COUNTY - It's 5:30 am and Pip Baehler alarm is going off. It's cold, dark and the wind is howling outside. Resisting the urge to turn over and return to slumber, Baehler gets up and heads out to work, to spend more time in the cold, dark, blustery elements.
The passion is the giant part of getting up every day and looking outside and knowing it's going to be 40 below zero all day long, Baehler said. "It's your commitment to a job that is important."
Working 10 to 11 hours is the norm for Baehler, the assistant ski patrol director at Loveland Ski Area. And there have been days where he's been there till 3:30 am.
"You have enough time to go home, put wood on the fire to warm the house up and let the dog out," he said. "Then you come back to work and do it again."
Photo courtesy Loveland Ski Patrol
Work entails being part avalanche forecaster, part medic, part customer service representative and part handyman. Sometimes it means skiing down runs and making sure people are having a fun and safe experience on the hill. And sometimes it means being the guy digging out a snow fence from a 4-foot snow drift in skin-chapping conditions.
A typical day starts with a sweep of the ski area and assessing conditions. If there has been heavy winds or a dumping of snow, avalanche conditions are evaluated and mitigation work is completed - be it with multiple ski cuts to slough off snow or with explosives. Sometimes safety equipment needs to be replaced or moved. The patrollers are always analyzing their surroundings while skiing down. So the skiing isn't just for getting the first turns in powder - Baehler said patrollers are considerate to leave that for the customers.
"We use the term patroller goggles," Baehler said. "You're not just looking at where you're going to go. You're looking and you see that rope over there that is half buried. You see those tower pads need to be raised and you see that little tip of a snow fence sticking out and you just heard that squeak in a shiv. There is a lot more to it."
Photo courtesy Loveland Ski Patrol
Any patroller will say a good day is when they don't have to use the toboggan to bring an injured party down the slope. All patrollers, whether they are pro or volunteer patrol, are certified in outdoor emergency care. Many of them have additional training or professions in the medical field such as EMTs, firefighters and doctors.
The training is extensive; refresher courses are required every year to stay up-to-date, and is also paid for by the patroller. Volunteer patrollers are required to buy their uniform, pay for their classes and certification and pay dues to National Ski Patrol.
"It's not really a profession you're going to raise a large family on, that's for sure," Baehler said. But the 25-year veteran wouldn't do anything else. With his red beard flecked with gray hair, Baehler doesn't look like the stereotypical patroller. In fact he says the young, hotshot ski patroller is a myth. Many of the patrollers are highly tenured.
"We have members who have been affiliated with NSP for 50, 60 even 70 years," said April Darrow, Communications Director for National Ski Patrol. The NSP counts over 2,00 members in Colorado and 27,000 people nationwide.
"Our membership really runs the gamut. The oldest patroller that I know of and still active is 92 years old. Not many organizations have volunteers that stay onboard as long as the National Ski Patrol, and it's pretty amazing to witness."
So what keeps bringing them back?
"As far as why they do it, the majority of patrollers get involved because they truly like helping people," Darrow said. "Patrollers also have a love of skiing or snowboarding and the outdoors. Patrolling is the perfect way to mesh these two interests, but helping people in need is a real draw for our membership."
Ski patrollers are also a tightly-knit fraternity. Baehler said the annual softball game in the summertime draws 150 members. Many times patrollers get together on their days off as well.
Anybody can test out to be a volunteer patroller. A person just needs to show up early on the weekend and a senior member will go out skiing or riding with the aspiring applicant and determine if their skiing acumen is high enough.
Volunteers are required to patrol 24 weekend days a season at Loveland in order to earn a season pass. There are other small perks that comes with the position as well. But it's an indescribable fervor that makes people give up there free time to watch over the mountain.
"It is a misconception that patrollers are just doing it for a free ski pass," Darrow said. "It really does require a lot. If people wanted to do that and get a pass, they could be a lift operator."
To learn more about the National Ski Patrol, visit http://www.nsp.org. To learn how to join the Loveland Ski Patrol, visit http://www.lovelandskipatrol.com