We continue with Kathy Alexander as she shares her extensive career journey in ski patrol and outdoor safety, highlighting the significant changes in equipment, uniforms, and training methods over her decades of service.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jodie (00:00):
Welcome back to part two of our chat with Kathy Alexander
.
Let's go back into.
You talked about your profile.
So we have you as a firefighter, you got a lifeguard coach,
you're in ski patrol, and thentell us more about MTR and
Avalanche.
(00:20):
Oh my goodness.
Kathy Alexander (00:23):
Well, being a teacher.
I love teaching and I've alwaysdone outdoor stuff.
I started Girl Scouts when Iwas a brownie and always did
outdoor things and went to GirlScout camp every summer for six
years from age 10 to 16.
I was a counselor in trainingand then that camp is where I
(00:43):
got my lifeguard certificates.
So then I started lifeguardingduring the winter.
Once a week I would take twobuses to the local YMCA and
lifeguard and then I startedteaching.
And then every summer duringhigh school and college I worked
at a big, huge swim club onStaten Island where I lived at
the time and I have always.
(01:04):
When I got to San Diego I wentto Red Cross and said I'm an
instructor, I want to keep myinstructors, and then teaching
first aid.
I also started teaching CPR tothe US Navy base in Miramar,
california, in 1974, when CPRemerged the way it is, with
(01:27):
chest compressions and breathing, regardless of the ratio of how
many compressions to press.
Before that, as a lifeguard wedid back pressure, arm lift and
the Sylvester method with chestcompressions and arms over the
head.
That's what we did for drowningvictims to get them to breathe
again.
There were no masks, there wereno gloves, you just went in
(01:48):
there.
So then I got into CPR as welland I still teach CPR and first
aid training to local communitygroups and Ben Fire as a program
once a month and of course withski patrol and then and then I
did a lot of teaching withsearch and rescue as well,
(02:09):
because they needed theirteaching as well.
So that just led me in being anEMT and a paramedic because of
all.
I always loved the first aid andthat's what I love about the
skiing.
It isn't just go to work andput on your fanny pack and ski
your buns off all day and seehow many runs you can do and how
many chairlift rides you can do.
(02:29):
It's.
I've gone to many, manyaccidents and working at Mount
Batchelor five days a week fromNovember to the 4th of July in
those days before MountBatchelor sold and then they
only opened till the end of May.
So I did first aid a lot.
I was always pulling sleds andfinding people all over the
place and then got into risk.
(02:51):
Management was always ainvestigation thing.
I thought if I ever had my lifeagain I'd be a forensic
scientist.
Jodie (02:57):
I'd love to go into that stuff Absolutely.
I loved forensics myself.
It is fascinating that sort ofpredicting.
But you also have, and you'rean MTR instructor, and MTR
stands for Mountain Travel andRescue.
Right and.
Kathy Alexander (03:16):
Avalanche.
Jodie (03:17):
And.
Kathy Alexander (03:17):
Avalanche in OEC.
So as the chances, theopportunities I would say at
Mount Batchelor came up, thatonce I did my instructor
development, because that wasstep one, which is step one
nowadays to become an instructoras well.
I first started with OEC, thenI went to Avalanche and then I
(03:39):
went to MTR and then I went toID and then of course, I always
taught CPR and then in the latenineties when the state of
Oregon said that firstresponders, including ski
patrollers, could use AEDs, thenwe incorporated the use of AEDs
in our CPR classes.
So I was always looking forthat challenge with teaching.
I love teaching.
Jodie (04:01):
Definitely, and you're very good at it.
Thank you, no, seriously.
So the other thing is that youknow I mean this just goes to
show ski patrol is not justskiing, and there's so much to
ski patrol.
There are so many ways to getinvolved, there's so many ways
to participate, and whether andeven people that don't ski I
(04:24):
fall into into that category,but it is fascinating because
it's just so much to be involvedwith as far as that's concerned
.
So you've seen a few thingsover the years with Mount
Bachelor.
What would some of the biggerthings that you would say from
when you first started to sortof, before you retired, that you
(04:45):
saw some, whether it might'vebeen equipment or uniforms,
radios, et cetera.
Kathy Alexander (04:53):
Yeah, I think the first two years I was at
Mount bachelor the volunteersdidn't have radios.
So the lifts were set up, thelift shacks had phone service,
communication communication, topto bottom lift shacks, and then
they could call also intodispatch.
And dispatch for ski patrol wasalways the highest point on the
mountain.
(05:13):
If the mountain was open to thesummit they were up there and
if the summit was closed theywere lower on the mountain.
And then all of a sudden we gotradios.
Well, the volunteers bought theradios because they realized
they needed them because, asthings you know, imagine, we did
many, many accidents everyweekend.
I mean we had between 25 and 35sled runs a day on busy
(05:37):
weekends.
Mount Bassett was very good inthose days and it was a lot.
So you'd get done with oneincident and while you're
bringing the patient into theaid room, somebody's turning the
sled around quickly becausethey got to get it back on the
hill for the next one.
So you are always busy.
Equipment the one thing I talkedto somebody the other day.
Our oxygen packs are so nice.
(05:59):
We got them at Mount Balshawand then Saniam Pass.
Who do Schemeki Patrol usesbackpacks that are padded straps
on them and the tank is inthere and some kind of trauma
stuff is in there and air wingmanagement.
Well, our first oxygen packswere wooden backboards that just
(06:21):
had a little shelf at thebottom and a back and webbing
straps and a belt and the twooxygen tanks sat on the outside.
This wasn't an enclosed frame,it was an open frame.
So the tank sat there and thenyou had a fanny pack that had
nasal cannulas, non-rebreathers.
(06:42):
We didn't even use BVM in thosedays and I think when we first
started we didn't even have OPAsand MPAs.
So going to scene with thesetwo tanks on a wooden frame,
going to scene, you you can'tski bad out of hell, because if
(07:03):
you fell you had this thing ontop of you and you were like a
turtle, you couldn't, or if youwere on your back you couldn't
roll over.
So those were very, very heavy.
So we kind of merged into thebackboards and actually
backpacks which were much morecomfortable to use.
Wooden backboards haven't reallyemerged anywhere else.
(07:25):
There's still wooden backboardswith some.
Most of them have those littlehandrails that were in.
And I remember when Batchelorstarted from the scoop stretcher
the old metal scoop stretchersthey still used them but they
went to wooden backboards.
Somebody on patrol was aconstruction guy, he they went
to wooden backboards.
Somebody on patrol was aconstruction guy.
He made all those woodenbackboards and they're still
(07:45):
using them today, really, yeah.
And then you know, like Seggers, before Seggers there was
another traction splint and thenthey thought, wow, seggers is
big.
Now we have Kendrick tractiondevices and there's another new
one on the market.
So things kind of emerge fromtime to time in the medical
(08:08):
field, and then ski patrol,depending on how much money they
have.
And you know the attitude is ohwell, this still works.
Why would we want a new thing?
If this gadget still works,let's keep with it.
Jodie (08:20):
Yes, yes.
Kathy Alexander (08:22):
Segers are still around, scoop stretchers
are still around, woodenbackboards now they're plastic.
What about the uniform, theuniforms?
I just remember North Face andwe didn't have Columbia then,
but there were uniforms that theuniform company, like for a
(08:42):
department for Mount Bassor,would research outdoor stuff.
So the lift operators, the skischool and ski patrol, we had to
be out there all the time soyou couldn't buy a jacket off
the rack and a store in band andput a cross on the back and one
on the sleeve and say go be outthere from eight o'clock in the
morning till five at night orsometimes all night.
(09:04):
Searches, which existed many,many times in those days, and
pants as well, and going withcompanies, zippers always broke
or something and you always hadto have a backup.
And then we switched to springuniforms because when it got
warmer and we were stillpatrolling at Mount Bachelor
until July 1st or July 4th, soyou couldn't wear that heavy
(09:28):
winter jacket, it got too warm.
So then that.
So it was hard finding a gooduniform jacket.
And then I remember in the NSPcatalog they started selling
jackets that were specificallymade for the industry.
You're a lift patrol, you knowa ski patroller.
Here's a uniform that works.
(09:49):
It's been tested.
It's water.
It's not waterproof, it's waterresistant.
I just waterproofed myso-called waterproofed on my
uniform, my uniform jackets andmy ski pants yesterday to put
them away for the summer.
So when I bring them out inNovember and start to use them
they're fresh again.
Some of these jackets you can'twear them year to year and not
(10:09):
put new fabric right,waterproofing or water resistant
material on them.
We, when I first started, someof the old volunteer patrollers
still wore rust and navy.
That was a standard jacket.
And then, as a paid patroller,we had red jackets with yellow
(10:31):
no idea.
We went from rust and navy to ared jacket because the paid
staff wore red but they hadwhite writing on it, white Mount
Bershaw and white crosses.
And then the volunteers went toa red jacket but yellow writing
, so Mount Bershaw's symbol, andthen NSP volunteer but a white
(10:54):
cross.
And the reason they went to redand red was so that when you got
to an accident and said, hi,I'm Kathy, I'm a ski patroller,
can I help you?
Oh, no, I want one of those redjacket ones.
They know more Well.
They did work five days a weekand some of them like skiing
more than they like doing firstaid so they would stay higher on
(11:14):
the mountain, not do as manysled runs in that.
But the volunteers were thereevery weekend.
So when you saw a rust and navyjacket, these were people who
had careers, they had businesses, they had families and they
volunteered on their days off todo service to the ski industry.
So they sometimes we wereharder teaching our volunteers
(11:38):
on doing first aid because youmight only be up there 20 days a
year, whereas the paid staff'sup there 20 days a month during
the ski season.
So when people then saw RedJacket Red Jacket they felt
comfortable because everybody'sin Red Jackets, even though we
all have the same training.
Jodie (11:56):
Right, just like you said , everyone has the same training
and you know, like you said,we're all still responsible and
it goes into what is beinginforming of our guests about.
You know changes because thereare a lot of different uniforms,
the access to the internet andseeing all these different
(12:22):
pictures, but there are so manydifferent examples and so
nowadays you can't just say it'sthe red jacket, but the
universal one is the white crossthat represents first aid for
most people.
That is John Q public thatthey're looking at is that is a
symbolism of, you know, rescue,of, in, treat me, help me, et
(12:42):
cetera.
So it is interesting changes,that.
But you also mentioned that youguys were going into July.
Now do you think that I meanwhat has changed?
Because now it seems like skiseason is over in April and May
for so many places season isover in April and May for so
(13:04):
many places.
Kathy Alexander (13:04):
Mount Bachelor always tried to open as soon as
they had enough snow and when Ifirst started skiing there I
actually started skiing there in1983 or 82.
I came up from San Diego tovisit friends who lived up here
in Oregon and we went to MountBachelor.
So that was one of the otherreasons why I thought this is a
big mountain and then Bend has abig hospital.
(13:25):
So if you needed care, eventhough we feel like we were
isolated on the east side of themountains, we had a big
hospital in central Oregon andthe white crosses were, just
like you said, a symbol ofpeople being first aid.
I do remember one year and itwas early in my career, maybe 87
(13:48):
or 88, the paid staff boughtnylon purple jackets, neon
purple.
That was the remember.
In the 70s everything was neonstuff.
They had nylon purple jacketswith pink crosses.
Now you laugh because therewere females on the paid staff
(14:11):
at that time with something like24, 25 male oh my goodness
wearing a purple jacket withpink.
But in the fog and whiteoutsthat pink showed up and you
would find all of a suddensomebody ahead of you with a
pink cross on him.
You'd go.
Oh good, I know where I am.
(14:32):
Now I'll just follow the pinkcross.
It didn't last very longbecause the nylon jackets faded
a lot and they didn't hold up asmuch as other jackets did that
were made for skiing.
But I just remember that.
But I guess when you go todifferent areas is I'm always
conscious of it when I go todifferent areas like where's
(14:54):
their first aid room, in case Ineed it or I need to direct
somebody there, and then whatdoes their help look like?
Lift operator jackets changefrom year to year but they're
standing at the lifts.
Lift mechanics always woreblack because they always got
greasy working on machinery.
But then with ski patrol, Ihave a nephew who's a full-time
(15:16):
ski patroller down at CrestedButte in Colorado.
He's always worn a red jacketwith white crosses and they
don't have any volunteers there.
So I guess around the UnitedStates when people ski either at
their favorite area becausethey live by, and they go there
all the time, like you would goto Timberline all the time.
If you came up from Mount Hoodor from Portland and you had a
(15:38):
little cabin but you would knowthen what the rescue service
wore.
So if you saw a white cross, itwas always like information.
And I know there are some areasthat have posts and they have a
big question mark on the backof their jacket, like ask me a
question, I have information.
Oh, that's right, yeah.
(15:59):
So I think it's just prettystandard.
That process would mean thatI'm a rescue person and I can
help you whether you're lost oryou need to find a trail.
You need to know where the bestlodge is for lunch.
Today.
You could always ask a skipatroller.
Jodie (16:14):
It just goes to show education is paramount.
What are we doing,education-wise, to help people
understand what to look for, etcetera?
And then also the coloring, thesafety issues, right, but oh my
goodness.
So now we've talked a littlebit about the.
(16:36):
Now, what about?
We've talked about first aidequipment, talked about some of
the jackets.
It's always fascinating tolearn the differences there.
But have you seen anythingdifferent with MTR or Avalanche?
Kathy Alexander (16:49):
Avalanche National Ski Patrol's Avalanche
classes were the only educationprograms for Avalanche education
for many, many years educationprograms for avalanche education
for many, many years.
And then differentorganizations started doing
their own classes and of coursethey charge.
Like there's a course that'staught at our local community
(17:11):
college for the weekend, they doa field day and they do two
days of classroom and it's runby a private organization that
calls themselves, you know,avalanche I won't say the name,
avalanche Education and theycharge $350 for the weekend for
somebody to participate, get alittle card that says you are
trained in avalanche.
(17:31):
The one thing I've known thatfrom both ski areas I've worked
at we don't charge for education, we don't charge them for OAC,
mountain travel, rescue, anavalanche course, an ID course.
This is where an educationorganization as well as a rescue
and first aid organization, sodime everybody.
(17:56):
I have had people from outsideorganizations say I really want
to take an avalanche course.
Well, there is a course thatthey could do, like Know Before
you Go, and they can do itonline and then, if they're
interested more like from thefire department or search and
rescue, I would invite them toour classes and maybe one or two
people would lead theiravalanche team that way for
(18:20):
specialty, especially withsearch and rescue.
But I think with avalanche notmuch has changed in the way of
vocabulary and vernacular, butlevel ones are knowledge so that
you could work with your teamgoing out in the morning to do
(18:41):
avalanche control or justavalanche checking on your slide
areas and be supportive of ateam.
Level two is set up so that youcould be a leader on one of
these teams, especially during arescue operation.
Mtr Mountain Travel and Rescuehas also done the same thing.
Anytime there's new informationabout hypothermia and treating a
(19:04):
patient for injuries in theback country, how to stabilize a
patient before they're liftedout by helicopter or search and
rescue comes in with a wheeledlitter or they get a snowmobile
rescue.
So those programs programs havedeveloped too and I think
National and the advisors haveto pay attention to any new
(19:26):
information for their programand always let people know.
And that's what I'm doing withinstructor development now that
we're moving into this newmentoring program is to let all
the instructors know from alldisciplines because you may be
asked to be a mentor in OET andyou go gee, I've never been a
mentor before.
What do we do?
It's an education program forthem as well.
(19:50):
So it's just not the beginnerpatrol of those education
programs as you move up the lineand have more experience and
then some instructors choose tonot do anything beyond.
I'm here for my duty days and Ido my duty days and whatever
else.
They ask me if I have to go toski swaps and spend some hours,
but some of them really are notinto the teaching.
(20:13):
And that's fine, and that's finebecause we need the army ants,
we need people to do a lot ofstuff.
And then there are people thatlove to teach.
There are people who sometimesteach but shouldn't be teaching
because they don't really, youknow, follow the rules or really
know what they're doing.
They need a lot more help asinstructors and, yeah, Wow.
(20:38):
Yeah, outdoor risk management.
It's a new program.
It's an elective for seniors.
If they want, I would encourageany patroller to go online to
outdoor risk management.
We all are risk managers.
Before you get to the mountain,you know what the road
conditions should be like.
Before you arrive.
(20:58):
What is your parking lotlooking like?
What's the weather going to bethis weekend?
If I'm just coming up for theday, do I have enough clothes?
If I get wet, or you know, myskis don't work, you know?
Or I forgot my boots, what do Ido?
And then coming up to themountain, looking at the
mountain to see what kind ofweather's up there, and then, as
you're skiing around, you'reriding a chairlift.
(21:19):
You just don't ride a chairlift.
You look at the whole world.
You look at towers, your eyesare out there looking for places
that might need a little bitmore attention.
That rope line needs to befixed.
Well, don't put it on the radio.
Get off the lift and go do it,because the guests expect a safe
area, exactly as safe aspossible.
(21:42):
But it go do it, because theguests expect a safe area,
exactly Safe as possible.
But it is an inherent risk toski.
But we take a look, so we allreally are risk managers and
this class, this new outdoorrisk management class, will open
your eyes and you're not just aspectator, writing the lips and
skiing all day Exactly, ridingthe lifts and skiing all day
Exactly.
Jodie (21:59):
So, from your perspective , as risk management etc.
What are your thoughts?
And help me because, like Isaid, I am not well.
I am not a good skier and Irarely ever ski, even though I
belong to a ski patrol.
Patrol is at Mount bachelor orin general.
(22:21):
Why are the numbering system onthe chairlifts so many places
only have it?
When you're writing up thechairlift as far as the numbers
I've heard this over and overand some of them it's not like
when you're coming down so youcan know where that is.
You got to sort of turn around,look over your shoulder and go
oh yeah, i'm'm near this tower.
(22:42):
Why don't they put them on bothsides?
Kathy Alexander (22:47):
I think it depends on the chairlift
manufacturer.
Oh, what they do.
Or maybe when you're having achairlift made for your ski area
, you ask to have numbers onboth.
I do know at Hoodoo they are onboth.
When we're standing at the topof the mountain counting the
chairs to see who's last one offso we can start sweep, we can
(23:08):
see the chair going by the bullwheel, so we know.
But when you're sitting on thechair you look up and you know
what chair you're on.
The lift operators can see bothsides.
So they might say, oh, call upand say to the lift operator on
top person on chair 15 just losthis ski.
We're sending it up on chair 18.
Right, so then at the top theyknow, stop the chair and help
(23:30):
this person off with one ski andput them aside, and then when
they get their ski they can goaway.
So I just I think I've seensome areas where it's just on
the front and I've seen someareas where it's on the back and
it's also, yes, and they're onboth sides.
Welcome back to part two of our chat with Kathy Alexander
.
Let's go back into.
You talked about your profile.
So we have you as a firefighter, you got a lifeguard coach,
you're in ski patrol, and thentell us more about MTR and
Avalanche.
(00:20):
Oh my goodness.
Kathy Alexander (00:23):
Well, being a teacher.
I love teaching and I've alwaysdone outdoor stuff.
I started Girl Scouts when Iwas a brownie and always did
outdoor things and went to GirlScout camp every summer for six
years from age 10 to 16.
I was a counselor in trainingand then that camp is where I
(00:43):
got my lifeguard certificates.
So then I started lifeguardingduring the winter.
Once a week I would take twobuses to the local YMCA and
lifeguard and then I startedteaching.
And then every summer duringhigh school and college I worked
at a big, huge swim club onStaten Island where I lived at
the time and I have always.
(01:04):
When I got to San Diego I wentto Red Cross and said I'm an
instructor, I want to keep myinstructors, and then teaching
first aid.
I also started teaching CPR tothe US Navy base in Miramar,
california, in 1974, when CPRemerged the way it is, with
(01:27):
chest compressions and breathing, regardless of the ratio of how
many compressions to press.
Before that, as a lifeguard wedid back pressure, arm lift and
the Sylvester method with chestcompressions and arms over the
head.
That's what we did for drowningvictims to get them to breathe
again.
There were no masks, there wereno gloves, you just went in
(01:48):
there.
So then I got into CPR as welland I still teach CPR and first
aid training to local communitygroups and Ben Fire as a program
once a month and of course withski patrol and then and then I
did a lot of teaching withsearch and rescue as well,
(02:09):
because they needed theirteaching as well.
So that just led me in being anEMT and a paramedic because of
all.
I always loved the first aid andthat's what I love about the
skiing.
It isn't just go to work andput on your fanny pack and ski
your buns off all day and seehow many runs you can do and how
many chairlift rides you can do.
(02:29):
It's.
I've gone to many, manyaccidents and working at Mount
Batchelor five days a week fromNovember to the 4th of July in
those days before MountBatchelor sold and then they
only opened till the end of May.
So I did first aid a lot.
I was always pulling sleds andfinding people all over the
place and then got into risk.
(02:51):
Management was always ainvestigation thing.
I thought if I ever had my lifeagain I'd be a forensic
scientist.
Jodie (02:57):
I'd love to go into that stuff Absolutely.
I loved forensics myself.
It is fascinating that sort ofpredicting.
But you also have, and you'rean MTR instructor, and MTR
stands for Mountain Travel andRescue.
Right and.
Kathy Alexander (03:16):
Avalanche.
Jodie (03:17):
And.
Kathy Alexander (03:17):
Avalanche in OEC.
So as the chances, theopportunities I would say at
Mount Batchelor came up, thatonce I did my instructor
development, because that wasstep one, which is step one
nowadays to become an instructoras well.
I first started with OEC, thenI went to Avalanche and then I
(03:39):
went to MTR and then I went toID and then of course, I always
taught CPR and then in the latenineties when the state of
Oregon said that firstresponders, including ski
patrollers, could use AEDs, thenwe incorporated the use of AEDs
in our CPR classes.
So I was always looking forthat challenge with teaching.
I love teaching.
Jodie (04:01):
Definitely, and you're very good at it.
Thank you, no, seriously.
So the other thing is that youknow I mean this just goes to
show ski patrol is not justskiing, and there's so much to
ski patrol.
There are so many ways to getinvolved, there's so many ways
to participate, and whether andeven people that don't ski I
(04:24):
fall into into that category,but it is fascinating because
it's just so much to be involvedwith as far as that's concerned
.
So you've seen a few thingsover the years with Mount
Bachelor.
What would some of the biggerthings that you would say from
when you first started to sortof, before you retired, that you
(04:45):
saw some, whether it might'vebeen equipment or uniforms,
radios, et cetera.
Kathy Alexander (04:53):
Yeah, I think the first two years I was at
Mount bachelor the volunteersdidn't have radios.
So the lifts were set up, thelift shacks had phone service,
communication communication, topto bottom lift shacks, and then
they could call also intodispatch.
And dispatch for ski patrol wasalways the highest point on the
mountain.
(05:13):
If the mountain was open to thesummit they were up there and
if the summit was closed theywere lower on the mountain.
And then all of a sudden we gotradios.
Well, the volunteers bought theradios because they realized
they needed them because, asthings you know, imagine, we did
many, many accidents everyweekend.
I mean we had between 25 and 35sled runs a day on busy
(05:37):
weekends.
Mount Bassett was very good inthose days and it was a lot.
So you'd get done with oneincident and while you're
bringing the patient into theaid room, somebody's turning the
sled around quickly becausethey got to get it back on the
hill for the next one.
So you are always busy.
Equipment the one thing I talkedto somebody the other day.
Our oxygen packs are so nice.
(05:59):
We got them at Mount Balshawand then Saniam Pass.
Who do Schemeki Patrol usesbackpacks that are padded straps
on them and the tank is inthere and some kind of trauma
stuff is in there and air wingmanagement.
Well, our first oxygen packswere wooden backboards that just
(06:21):
had a little shelf at thebottom and a back and webbing
straps and a belt and the twooxygen tanks sat on the outside.
This wasn't an enclosed frame,it was an open frame.
So the tank sat there and thenyou had a fanny pack that had
nasal cannulas, non-rebreathers.
(06:42):
We didn't even use BVM in thosedays and I think when we first
started we didn't even have OPAsand MPAs.
So going to scene with thesetwo tanks on a wooden frame,
going to scene, you you can'tski bad out of hell, because if
(07:03):
you fell you had this thing ontop of you and you were like a
turtle, you couldn't, or if youwere on your back you couldn't
roll over.
So those were very, very heavy.
So we kind of merged into thebackboards and actually
backpacks which were much morecomfortable to use.
Wooden backboards haven't reallyemerged anywhere else.
(07:25):
There's still wooden backboardswith some.
Most of them have those littlehandrails that were in.
And I remember when Batchelorstarted from the scoop stretcher
the old metal scoop stretchersthey still used them but they
went to wooden backboards.
Somebody on patrol was aconstruction guy, he they went
to wooden backboards.
Somebody on patrol was aconstruction guy.
He made all those woodenbackboards and they're still
(07:45):
using them today, really, yeah.
And then you know, like Seggers, before Seggers there was
another traction splint and thenthey thought, wow, seggers is
big.
Now we have Kendrick tractiondevices and there's another new
one on the market.
So things kind of emerge fromtime to time in the medical
(08:08):
field, and then ski patrol,depending on how much money they
have.
And you know the attitude is ohwell, this still works.
Why would we want a new thing?
If this gadget still works,let's keep with it.
Jodie (08:20):
Yes, yes.
Kathy Alexander (08:22):
Segers are still around, scoop stretchers
are still around, woodenbackboards now they're plastic.
What about the uniform, theuniforms?
I just remember North Face andwe didn't have Columbia then,
but there were uniforms that theuniform company, like for a
(08:42):
department for Mount Bassor,would research outdoor stuff.
So the lift operators, the skischool and ski patrol, we had to
be out there all the time soyou couldn't buy a jacket off
the rack and a store in band andput a cross on the back and one
on the sleeve and say go be outthere from eight o'clock in the
morning till five at night orsometimes all night.
(09:04):
Searches, which existed many,many times in those days, and
pants as well, and going withcompanies, zippers always broke
or something and you always hadto have a backup.
And then we switched to springuniforms because when it got
warmer and we were stillpatrolling at Mount Bachelor
until July 1st or July 4th, soyou couldn't wear that heavy
(09:28):
winter jacket, it got too warm.
So then that.
So it was hard finding a gooduniform jacket.
And then I remember in the NSPcatalog they started selling
jackets that were specificallymade for the industry.
You're a lift patrol, you knowa ski patroller.
Here's a uniform that works.
(09:49):
It's been tested.
It's water.
It's not waterproof, it's waterresistant.
I just waterproofed myso-called waterproofed on my
uniform, my uniform jackets andmy ski pants yesterday to put
them away for the summer.
So when I bring them out inNovember and start to use them
they're fresh again.
Some of these jackets you can'twear them year to year and not
(10:09):
put new fabric right,waterproofing or water resistant
material on them.
We, when I first started, someof the old volunteer patrollers
still wore rust and navy.
That was a standard jacket.
And then, as a paid patroller,we had red jackets with yellow
(10:31):
no idea.
We went from rust and navy to ared jacket because the paid
staff wore red but they hadwhite writing on it, white Mount
Bershaw and white crosses.
And then the volunteers went toa red jacket but yellow writing
, so Mount Bershaw's symbol, andthen NSP volunteer but a white
(10:54):
cross.
And the reason they went to redand red was so that when you got
to an accident and said, hi,I'm Kathy, I'm a ski patroller,
can I help you?
Oh, no, I want one of those redjacket ones.
They know more Well.
They did work five days a weekand some of them like skiing
more than they like doing firstaid so they would stay higher on
(11:14):
the mountain, not do as manysled runs in that.
But the volunteers were thereevery weekend.
So when you saw a rust and navyjacket, these were people who
had careers, they had businesses, they had families and they
volunteered on their days off todo service to the ski industry.
So they sometimes we wereharder teaching our volunteers
(11:38):
on doing first aid because youmight only be up there 20 days a
year, whereas the paid staff'sup there 20 days a month during
the ski season.
So when people then saw RedJacket Red Jacket they felt
comfortable because everybody'sin Red Jackets, even though we
all have the same training.
Jodie (11:56):
Right, just like you said , everyone has the same training
and you know, like you said,we're all still responsible and
it goes into what is beinginforming of our guests about.
You know changes because thereare a lot of different uniforms,
the access to the internet andseeing all these different
(12:22):
pictures, but there are so manydifferent examples and so
nowadays you can't just say it'sthe red jacket, but the
universal one is the white crossthat represents first aid for
most people.
That is John Q public thatthey're looking at is that is a
symbolism of, you know, rescue,of, in, treat me, help me, et
(12:42):
cetera.
So it is interesting changes,that.
But you also mentioned that youguys were going into July.
Now do you think that I meanwhat has changed?
Because now it seems like skiseason is over in April and May
for so many places season isover in April and May for so
(13:04):
many places.
Kathy Alexander (13:04):
Mount Bachelor always tried to open as soon as
they had enough snow and when Ifirst started skiing there I
actually started skiing there in1983 or 82.
I came up from San Diego tovisit friends who lived up here
in Oregon and we went to MountBachelor.
So that was one of the otherreasons why I thought this is a
big mountain and then Bend has abig hospital.
(13:25):
So if you needed care, eventhough we feel like we were
isolated on the east side of themountains, we had a big
hospital in central Oregon andthe white crosses were, just
like you said, a symbol ofpeople being first aid.
I do remember one year and itwas early in my career, maybe 87
(13:48):
or 88, the paid staff boughtnylon purple jackets, neon
purple.
That was the remember.
In the 70s everything was neonstuff.
They had nylon purple jacketswith pink crosses.
Now you laugh because therewere females on the paid staff
(14:11):
at that time with something like24, 25 male oh my goodness
wearing a purple jacket withpink.
But in the fog and whiteoutsthat pink showed up and you
would find all of a suddensomebody ahead of you with a
pink cross on him.
You'd go.
Oh good, I know where I am.
(14:32):
Now I'll just follow the pinkcross.
It didn't last very longbecause the nylon jackets faded
a lot and they didn't hold up asmuch as other jackets did that
were made for skiing.
But I just remember that.
But I guess when you go todifferent areas is I'm always
conscious of it when I go todifferent areas like where's
(14:54):
their first aid room, in case Ineed it or I need to direct
somebody there, and then whatdoes their help look like?
Lift operator jackets changefrom year to year but they're
standing at the lifts.
Lift mechanics always woreblack because they always got
greasy working on machinery.
But then with ski patrol, Ihave a nephew who's a full-time
(15:16):
ski patroller down at CrestedButte in Colorado.
He's always worn a red jacketwith white crosses and they
don't have any volunteers there.
So I guess around the UnitedStates when people ski either at
their favorite area becausethey live by, and they go there
all the time, like you would goto Timberline all the time.
If you came up from Mount Hoodor from Portland and you had a
(15:38):
little cabin but you would knowthen what the rescue service
wore.
So if you saw a white cross, itwas always like information.
And I know there are some areasthat have posts and they have a
big question mark on the backof their jacket, like ask me a
question, I have information.
Oh, that's right, yeah.
(15:59):
So I think it's just prettystandard.
That process would mean thatI'm a rescue person and I can
help you whether you're lost oryou need to find a trail.
You need to know where the bestlodge is for lunch.
Today.
You could always ask a skipatroller.
Jodie (16:14):
It just goes to show education is paramount.
What are we doing,education-wise, to help people
understand what to look for, etcetera?
And then also the coloring, thesafety issues, right, but oh my
goodness.
So now we've talked a littlebit about the.
(16:36):
Now, what about?
We've talked about first aidequipment, talked about some of
the jackets.
It's always fascinating tolearn the differences there.
But have you seen anythingdifferent with MTR or Avalanche?
Kathy Alexander (16:49):
Avalanche National Ski Patrol's Avalanche
classes were the only educationprograms for Avalanche education
for many, many years educationprograms for avalanche education
for many, many years.
And then differentorganizations started doing
their own classes and of coursethey charge.
Like there's a course that'staught at our local community
(17:11):
college for the weekend, they doa field day and they do two
days of classroom and it's runby a private organization that
calls themselves, you know,avalanche I won't say the name,
avalanche Education and theycharge $350 for the weekend for
somebody to participate, get alittle card that says you are
trained in avalanche.
(17:31):
The one thing I've known thatfrom both ski areas I've worked
at we don't charge for education, we don't charge them for OAC,
mountain travel, rescue, anavalanche course, an ID course.
This is where an educationorganization as well as a rescue
and first aid organization, sodime everybody.
(17:56):
I have had people from outsideorganizations say I really want
to take an avalanche course.
Well, there is a course thatthey could do, like Know Before
you Go, and they can do itonline and then, if they're
interested more like from thefire department or search and
rescue, I would invite them toour classes and maybe one or two
people would lead theiravalanche team that way for
(18:20):
specialty, especially withsearch and rescue.
But I think with avalanche notmuch has changed in the way of
vocabulary and vernacular, butlevel ones are knowledge so that
you could work with your teamgoing out in the morning to do
(18:41):
avalanche control or justavalanche checking on your slide
areas and be supportive of ateam.
Level two is set up so that youcould be a leader on one of
these teams, especially during arescue operation.
Mtr Mountain Travel and Rescuehas also done the same thing.
Anytime there's new informationabout hypothermia and treating a
(19:04):
patient for injuries in theback country, how to stabilize a
patient before they're liftedout by helicopter or search and
rescue comes in with a wheeledlitter or they get a snowmobile
rescue.
So those programs programs havedeveloped too and I think
National and the advisors haveto pay attention to any new
(19:26):
information for their programand always let people know.
And that's what I'm doing withinstructor development now that
we're moving into this newmentoring program is to let all
the instructors know from alldisciplines because you may be
asked to be a mentor in OET andyou go gee, I've never been a
mentor before.
What do we do?
It's an education program forthem as well.
(19:50):
So it's just not the beginnerpatrol of those education
programs as you move up the lineand have more experience and
then some instructors choose tonot do anything beyond.
I'm here for my duty days and Ido my duty days and whatever
else.
They ask me if I have to go toski swaps and spend some hours,
but some of them really are notinto the teaching.
(20:13):
And that's fine, and that's finebecause we need the army ants,
we need people to do a lot ofstuff.
And then there are people thatlove to teach.
There are people who sometimesteach but shouldn't be teaching
because they don't really, youknow, follow the rules or really
know what they're doing.
They need a lot more help asinstructors and, yeah, Wow.
(20:38):
Yeah, outdoor risk management.
It's a new program.
It's an elective for seniors.
If they want, I would encourageany patroller to go online to
outdoor risk management.
We all are risk managers.
Before you get to the mountain,you know what the road
conditions should be like.
Before you arrive.
(20:58):
What is your parking lotlooking like?
What's the weather going to bethis weekend?
If I'm just coming up for theday, do I have enough clothes?
If I get wet, or you know, myskis don't work, you know?
Or I forgot my boots, what do Ido?
And then coming up to themountain, looking at the
mountain to see what kind ofweather's up there, and then, as
you're skiing around, you'reriding a chairlift.
(21:19):
You just don't ride a chairlift.
You look at the whole world.
You look at towers, your eyesare out there looking for places
that might need a little bitmore attention.
That rope line needs to befixed.
Well, don't put it on the radio.
Get off the lift and go do it,because the guests expect a safe
area, exactly as safe aspossible.
(21:42):
But it go do it, because theguests expect a safe area,
exactly Safe as possible.
But it is an inherent risk toski.
But we take a look, so we allreally are risk managers and
this class, this new outdoorrisk management class, will open
your eyes and you're not just aspectator, writing the lips and
skiing all day Exactly, ridingthe lifts and skiing all day
Exactly.
Jodie (21:59):
So, from your perspective , as risk management etc.
What are your thoughts?
And help me because, like Isaid, I am not well.
I am not a good skier and Irarely ever ski, even though I
belong to a ski patrol.
Patrol is at Mount bachelor orin general.
(22:21):
Why are the numbering system onthe chairlifts so many places
only have it?
When you're writing up thechairlift as far as the numbers
I've heard this over and overand some of them it's not like
when you're coming down so youcan know where that is.
You got to sort of turn around,look over your shoulder and go
oh yeah, i'm'm near this tower.
(22:42):
Why don't they put them on bothsides?
Kathy Alexander (22:47):
I think it depends on the chairlift
manufacturer.
Oh, what they do.
Or maybe when you're having achairlift made for your ski area
, you ask to have numbers onboth.
I do know at Hoodoo they are onboth.
When we're standing at the topof the mountain counting the
chairs to see who's last one offso we can start sweep, we can
(23:08):
see the chair going by the bullwheel, so we know.
But when you're sitting on thechair you look up and you know
what chair you're on.
The lift operators can see bothsides.
So they might say, oh, call upand say to the lift operator on
top person on chair 15 just losthis ski.
We're sending it up on chair 18.
Right, so then at the top theyknow, stop the chair and help
(23:30):
this person off with one ski andput them aside, and then when
they get their ski they can goaway.
So I just I think I've seensome areas where it's just on
the front and I've seen someareas where it's on the back and
it's also, yes, and they're onboth sides.
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