Jay Peak Week Two

Friday's practicum was cancelled, wish it wasn't because I wanted to do Lift Ops and the Tram. Oh Well. Saturday at Jay Peak I worked with Ski Patrol and Ski School. Got to Patrol and it was a very hectic morning for Peg as the Tram haul rope was frozen so they had to close trails and lifts in order to knock the ice off by running the tram. I went with Pierre to open Canyon Land, about mid run he got a call about an accident in a glade off taxi. Pierre and I were the first responders and the 30 year old snowboarder had hit a tree and broke his femur. It was very cool to see all of the 8 patrollers work together to keep him calm and get him out of the glades. It was very eye opening and i can appreciate all the work patrollers do now, I also went to another crash scene when a little girl crashed into a tree in Exbo Glade. For the rest of the day we went around put in trail merging signs and icy conditions signs. Ski Patrol is huge with safety and service, as they decide whether to open or close a trail due to safety concerns, which could limit the customers experience. They are huge on safety as they put signs out, rescue injured skiers and make routine safety checks. Patrol effects the customer in positive and negative ways as they can open/close trails whenever they deem them unsafe. Patrol is a very hectic environment in the morning with opening the lifts/trails and the owner really depends on them to make proper decisions.
Ski school was a little boring I just followed a Level 3 Ski Instructor around for an hour lesson, they don't have much to do in the afternoon. They provide a service to anybody wishing to learn to ski/ride. They are a big part of services for the resort as they try to install the love for the sport into them. So if a new skier/rider gets a cranky instructor they might not come back again which means the resort isn't making money.  Ski school employees the most people at the mountain so it offers a lot of jobs to people. It allows the employees to interact with guests and show their passion for the sport.