Hiway16 Magazine... about people and places in north-central British Columbia, Canada

PAGE TWO
OF THREE

Ski Patrol to the Rescue

There are 2 other jacket colors of authority on the mountain, the most important being the red jackets with the white cross on their pack. The Ski Smithers Corporation now has three of these paid Professional Patrollers- enough to cover weekends as well as weekdays. The Pro Patrol oversees the volunteers and has first aid training equivalent to Industrial Level III.

Pro Patroller (and local Senior Conservation Officer) Peter Kalina

"We have that among other things," says Patrol Director Andrew Maillot, who himself can add avalanche, management, WCB, occupational hazard and evacuation training to the list. "I like the medical industry and couldn't afford the schooling to become a doctor. I've been skiing all my life and have been a Pro Patroller for seven years. I'll probably always be a patroller," he admits. A big part of Andrew's job is promoting safety awareness and accident prevention. Just recently he held a P.E.E.P.( a signalling device worn by out-of-bound skiers in case of an avalanche) demonstration to show how you could find someone buried beneath the snow. Then there are the sprained limbs, broken femurs and the worst, a boot-top fracture attended to last season. Some days are definitely busier than others.

Andrew takes a serious look at a sore ankle

Andrew is also responsible for observing and recommending actions to prevent accidents on the mountain as well as ensuring the opening and closing "sweep" (where the entire hill is skied only by patrollers to make sure everything is secure) are performed. While Andrew says it's a decent wage, he also owns a company called Chilko River Rafting which keeps him busy after the ski season ends.






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