Water, Snow, and Fire: The Elements of Kathy’s Journey-(Part 2:3) Jacket Colors & White Crosses: The World of Ski Patrol

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.

The PNWD History Project:  Shirley Cummings, the official history project coordinator, (& all around fabulous lady), has been on a mission: Collect and assemble an archive of stories and pictures from the different ski patrols within the Pacific Northwest Division. Hence, Patroller Chats was born! 

Chapters

• 0:00 Kathy's Outdoor Teaching Background
• 4:09 Evolution of First Aid Training
• 6:50 Changing Rescue Equipment
• 10:30 Uniform Evolution in Ski Patrol
• 16:46 Avalanche Education and MTR Programs
• 23:21 Risk Management on the Mountain

Transcript

Jodie: 0:59

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 then tell us more about MTR and Avalanche. Oh my goodness.

Kathy Alexander: 1:22

Well, being a teacher. I love teaching and I've always done outdoor stuff. I started Girl Scouts when I was a brownie and always did outdoor things and went to Girl Scout camp every summer for six years from age 10 to 16. I was a counselor in training and then that camp is where I got my lifeguard certificates. So then I started lifeguarding during the winter. Once a week I would take two buses to the local YMCA and lifeguard and then I started teaching. And then every summer during high school and college I worked at a big, huge swim club on Staten Island where I lived at the time and I have always.

Kathy Alexander: 2:03

When I got to San Diego I went to Red Cross and said I'm an instructor, I want to keep my instructors, and then teaching first aid. I also started teaching CPR to the US Navy base in Miramar, california, in 1974, when CPR emerged the way it is, with chest compressions and breathing, regardless of the ratio of how many compressions to press. Before that, as a lifeguard we did back pressure, arm lift and the Sylvester method with chest compressions and arms over the head. That's what we did for drowning victims to get them to breathe again. There were no masks, there were no gloves, you just went in there. So then I got into CPR as well and I still teach CPR and first aid training to local community groups and Ben Fire as a program once a month and of course with ski patrol and then and then I did a lot of teaching with search and rescue as well, because they needed their teaching as well. So that just led me in being an EMT and a paramedic because of all.

Kathy Alexander: 3:15

I always loved the first aid and that's what I love about the skiing. It isn't just go to work and put on your fanny pack and ski your buns off all day and see how many runs you can do and how many chairlift rides you can do. It's. I've gone to many, many accidents and working at Mount Batchelor five days a week from November to the 4th of July in those days before Mount Batchelor sold and then they only opened till the end of May. So I did first aid a lot. I was always pulling sleds and finding people all over the place and then got into risk. Management was always a investigation thing. I thought if I ever had my life again I'd be a forensic scientist.

Jodie: 3:57

I'd love to go into that stuff Absolutely. I loved forensics myself. It is fascinating that sort of predicting. But you also have, and you're an MTR instructor, and MTR stands for Mountain Travel and Rescue. Right and.

Kathy Alexander: 4:15

Avalanche.

Jodie: 4:17

And.

Kathy Alexander: 4:17

Avalanche in OEC. So as the chances, the opportunities I would say at Mount Batchelor came up, that once I did my instructor development, because that was step one, which is step one nowadays to become an instructor as well. I first started with OEC, then I went to Avalanche and then I went to MTR and then I went to ID and then of course, I always taught CPR and then in the late nineties when the state of Oregon said that first responders, including ski patrollers, could use AEDs, then we incorporated the use of AEDs in our CPR classes. So I was always looking for that challenge with teaching. I love teaching.

Jodie: 5:00

Definitely, and you're very good at it. Thank you, no, seriously. So the other thing is that you know I mean this just goes to show ski patrol is not just skiing, and there's so much to ski patrol. There are so many ways to get involved, there's so many ways to participate, and whether and even people that don't ski I fall into into that category, but it is fascinating because it's just so much to be involved with as far as that's concerned. So you've seen a few things over the years with Mount Bachelor. What would some of the bigger things that you would say from when you first started to sort of, before you retired, that you saw some, whether it might've been equipment or uniforms, radios, et cetera.

Kathy Alexander: 5:52

Yeah, I think the first two years I was at Mount bachelor the volunteers didn't have radios. So the lifts were set up, the lift shacks had phone service, communication communication, top to bottom lift shacks, and then they could call also into dispatch. And dispatch for ski patrol was always the highest point on the mountain. If the mountain was open to the summit they were up there and if the summit was closed they were lower on the mountain. And then all of a sudden we got radios. Well, the volunteers bought the radios because they realized they needed them because, as things you know, imagine, we did many, many accidents every weekend. I mean we had between 25 and 35 sled runs a day on busy weekends. Mount Bassett was very good in those days and it was a lot. So you'd get done with one incident and while you're bringing the patient into the aid room, somebody's turning the sled around quickly because they got to get it back on the hill for the next one. So you are always busy.

Kathy Alexander: 6:53

Equipment the one thing I talked to somebody the other day. Our oxygen packs are so nice. We got them at Mount Balshaw and then Saniam Pass. Who do Schemeki Patrol uses backpacks that are padded straps on them and the tank is in there and some kind of trauma stuff is in there and air wing management. Well, our first oxygen packs were wooden backboards that just had a little shelf at the bottom and a back and webbing straps and a belt and the two oxygen tanks sat on the outside. This wasn't an enclosed frame, it was an open frame. So the tank sat there and then you had a fanny pack that had nasal cannulas, non-rebreathers. We didn't even use BVM in those days and I think when we first started we didn't even have OPAs and MPAs. So going to scene with these two tanks on a wooden frame, going to scene, you you can't ski bad out of hell, because if you fell you had this thing on top of you and you were like a turtle, you couldn't, or if you were on your back you couldn't roll over. So those were very, very heavy. So we kind of merged into the backboards and actually backpacks which were much more comfortable to use.

Kathy Alexander: 8:20

Wooden backboards haven't really emerged anywhere else. There's still wooden backboards with some. Most of them have those little handrails that were in. And I remember when Batchelor started from the scoop stretcher the old metal scoop stretchers they still used them but they went to wooden backboards. Somebody on patrol was a construction guy, he they went to wooden backboards. Somebody on patrol was a construction guy. He made all those wooden backboards and they're still using them today, really, yeah. And then you know, like Seggers, before Seggers there was another traction splint and then they thought, wow, seggers is big. Now we have Kendrick traction devices and there's another new one on the market. So things kind of emerge from time to time in the medical field, and then ski patrol, depending on how much money they have. And you know the attitude is oh well, this still works. Why would we want a new thing? If this gadget still works, let's keep with it.

Jodie: 9:19

Yes, yes.

Kathy Alexander: 9:21

Segers are still around, scoop stretchers are still around, wooden backboards now they're plastic. What about the uniform, the uniforms? I just remember North Face and we didn't have Columbia then, but there were uniforms that the uniform company, like for a department for Mount Bassor, would research outdoor stuff. So the lift operators, the ski school and ski patrol, we had to be out there all the time so you couldn't buy a jacket off the rack and a store in band and put a cross on the back and one on the sleeve and say go be out there from eight o'clock in the morning till five at night or sometimes all night. Searches, which existed many, many times in those days, and pants as well, and going with companies, zippers always broke or something and you always had to have a backup. And then we switched to spring uniforms because when it got warmer and we were still patrolling at Mount Bachelor until July 1st or July 4th, so you couldn't wear that heavy winter jacket, it got too warm. So then that. So it was hard finding a good uniform jacket. And then I remember in the NSP catalog they started selling jackets that were specifically made for the industry. You're a lift patrol, you know a ski patroller. Here's a uniform that works. It's been tested. It's water. It's not waterproof, it's water resistant. I just waterproofed my so-called waterproofed on my uniform, my uniform jackets and my ski pants yesterday to put them away for the summer. So when I bring them out in November and start to use them they're fresh again. Some of these jackets you can't wear them year to year and not put new fabric right, waterproofing or water resistant material on them.

Kathy Alexander: 11:16

We, when I first started, some of 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 no idea. We went from rust and navy to a red jacket because the paid staff wore red but they had white writing on it, white Mount Bershaw and white crosses. And then the volunteers went to a red jacket but yellow writing, so Mount Bershaw's symbol, and then NSP volunteer but a white cross.

Kathy Alexander: 11:54

And the reason they went to red and 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 red jacket ones. They know more Well. They did work five days a week and some of them like skiing more than they like doing first aid so they would stay higher on the mountain, not do as many sled runs in that. But the volunteers were there every weekend. So when you saw a rust and navy jacket, these were people who had careers, they had businesses, they had families and they volunteered on their days off to do service to the ski industry. So they sometimes we were harder teaching our volunteers on doing first aid because you might only be up there 20 days a year, whereas the paid staff's up there 20 days a month during the ski season. So when people then saw Red Jacket Red Jacket they felt comfortable because everybody's in Red Jackets, even though we all have the same training.

Jodie: 12:55

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 being informing of our guests about. You know changes because there are a lot of different uniforms, the access to the internet and seeing all these different pictures, but there are so many different examples and so nowadays you can't just say it's the red jacket, but the universal one is the white cross that represents first aid for most people. That is John Q public that they're looking at is that is a symbolism of, you know, rescue, of, in, treat me, help me, et cetera. So it is interesting changes, that. But you also mentioned that you guys were going into July. Now do you think that I mean what has changed? Because now it seems like ski season is over in April and May for so many places season is over in April and May for so many places.

Kathy Alexander: 14:32

Mount Bachelor always tried to open as soon as they had enough snow and when I first started skiing there I actually started skiing there in 1983 or 82. I came up from San Diego to visit friends who lived up here in Oregon and we went to Mount Bachelor. So that was one of the other reasons why I thought this is a big mountain and then Bend has a big hospital. So if you needed care, even though we feel like we were isolated on the east side of the mountains, we had a big hospital in central Oregon and the white crosses were, just like you said, a symbol of people being first aid. I do remember one year and it was early in my career, maybe 87 or 88, the paid staff bought nylon purple jackets, neon purple. That was the remember. In the 70s everything was neon stuff. They had nylon purple jackets with pink crosses. Now you laugh because there were females on the paid staff at that time with something like 24, 25 male oh my goodness wearing a purple jacket with pink.

Kathy Alexander: 15:46

But in the fog and whiteouts that pink showed up and you would find all of a sudden somebody ahead of you with a pink cross on him. You'd go. Oh good, I know where I am. Now I'll just follow the pink cross. It didn't last very long because the nylon jackets faded a lot and they didn't hold up as much as other jackets did that were made for skiing. But I just remember that.

Kathy Alexander: 16:12

But I guess when you go to different areas is I'm always conscious of it when I go to different areas like where's their first aid room, in case I need it or I need to direct somebody there, and then what does their help look like? Lift operator jackets change from year to year but they're standing at the lifts. Lift mechanics always wore black because they always got greasy working on machinery. But then with ski patrol, I have a nephew who's a full-time ski patroller down at Crested Butte in Colorado. He's always worn a red jacket with white crosses and they don't have any volunteers there.

Kathy Alexander: 16:52

So I guess around the United States when people ski either at their favorite area because they live by, and they go there all the time, like you would go to Timberline all the time. If you came up from Mount Hood or from Portland and you had a little cabin but you would know then what the rescue service wore. So if you saw a white cross, it was always like information. And I know there are some areas that have posts and they have a big question mark on the back of their jacket, like ask me a question, I have information. Oh, that's right, yeah. So I think it's just pretty standard. That process would mean that I'm a rescue person and I can help you whether you're lost or you need to find a trail. You need to know where the best lodge is for lunch. Today. You could always ask a ski patroller.

Jodie: 17:41

It just goes to show education is paramount. What are we doing, education-wise, to help people understand what to look for, et cetera? And then also the coloring, the safety issues, right, but oh my goodness. So now we've talked a little bit about the. Now, what about? We've talked about first aid equipment, talked about some of the jackets. It's always fascinating to learn the differences there. But have you seen anything different with MTR or Avalanche?

Kathy Alexander: 18:17

Avalanche National Ski Patrol's Avalanche classes were the only education programs for Avalanche education for many, many years education programs for avalanche education for many, many years. And then different organizations started doing their own classes and of course they charge. Like there's a course that's taught at our local community college for the weekend, they do a field day and they do two days of classroom and it's run by a private organization that calls themselves, you know, avalanche I won't say the name, avalanche Education and they charge $350 for the weekend for somebody to participate, get a little card that says you are trained in avalanche. The one thing I've known that from both ski areas I've worked at we don't charge for education, we don't charge them for OAC, mountain travel, rescue, an avalanche course, an ID course. This is where an education organization as well as a rescue and first aid organization, so dime everybody.

Kathy Alexander: 19:24

I have had people from outside organizations say I really want to take an avalanche course. Well, there is a course that they could do, like Know Before you Go, and they can do it online and then, if they're interested more like from the fire department or search and rescue, I would invite them to our classes and maybe one or two people would lead their avalanche team that way for specialty, especially with search and rescue. But I think with avalanche not much has changed in the way of vocabulary and vernacular, but level ones are knowledge so that you could work with your team going out in the morning to do avalanche control or just avalanche checking on your slide areas and be supportive of a team. Level two is set up so that you could be a leader on one of these teams, especially during a rescue operation. Mtr Mountain Travel and Rescue has also done the same thing.

Kathy Alexander: 20:27

Anytime there's new information about hypothermia and treating a patient for injuries in the back country, how to stabilize a patient before they're lifted out by helicopter or search and rescue comes in with a wheeled litter or they get a snowmobile rescue.

Kathy Alexander: 20:46

So those programs programs have developed too and I think National and the advisors have to pay attention to any new information for their program and always let people know. And that's what I'm doing with instructor development now that we're moving into this new mentoring program is to let all the instructors know from all disciplines because you may be asked to be a mentor in OET and you go gee, I've never been a mentor before. What do we do? It's an education program for them as well. So it's just not the beginner patrol of those education programs as you move up the line and have more experience and then some instructors choose to not do anything beyond. I'm here for my duty days and I do my duty days and whatever else. They ask me if I have to go to ski swaps and spend some hours, but some of them really are not into the teaching.

Kathy Alexander: 21:41

And that's fine, and that's fine because we need the army ants, we need people to do a lot of stuff. And then there are people that love to teach. There are people who sometimes teach but shouldn't be teaching because they don't really, you know, follow the rules or really know what they're doing. They need a lot more help as instructors and, yeah, Wow.

Kathy Alexander: 22:05

Yeah, outdoor risk management. It's a new program. It's an elective for seniors. If they want, I would encourage any patroller to go online to outdoor risk management. We all are risk managers.

Kathy Alexander: 22:20

Before you get to the mountain, you know what the road conditions should be like. Before you arrive. What is your parking lot looking like? What's the weather going to be this weekend? If I'm just coming up for the day, do I have enough clothes? If I get wet, or you know, my skis don't work, you know? Or I forgot my boots, what do I do?

Kathy Alexander: 22:39

And then coming up to the mountain, looking at the mountain to see what kind of weather's up there, and then, as you're skiing around, you're riding a chairlift. You just don't ride a chairlift. You look at the whole world. You look at towers, your eyes are out there looking for places that might need a little bit more attention. That rope line needs to be fixed. 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 as possible. But it go do it, because the guests expect a safe area, exactly Safe as possible. But it is an inherent risk to ski. But we take a look, so we all really are risk managers and this class, this new outdoor risk management class, will open your eyes and you're not just a spectator, writing the lips and skiing all day Exactly, riding the lifts and skiing all day Exactly.

Jodie: 23:27

So, from your perspective, as risk management etc. What are your thoughts? And help me because, like I said, I am not well. I am not a good skier and I rarely ever ski, even though I belong to a ski patrol. Patrol is at Mount bachelor or in general. Why are the numbering system on the chairlifts so many places only have it? When you're writing up the chairlift as far as the numbers I've heard this over and over and some of them it's not like when you're coming down so you can 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. Why don't they put them on both sides?

Kathy Alexander: 24:14

I think it depends on the chairlift manufacturer. Oh, what they do. Or maybe when you're having a chairlift made for your ski area, you ask to have numbers on both. I do know at Hoodoo they are on both. When we're standing at the top of the mountain counting the chairs to see who's last one off so we can start sweep, we can see the chair going by the bull wheel, so we know. But when you're sitting on the chair you look up and you know what chair you're on. The lift operators can see both sides. So they might say, oh, call up and say to the lift operator on top person on chair 15 just lost his ski. We're sending it up on chair 18. Right, so then at the top they know, stop the chair and help this person off with one ski and put them aside, and then when they get their ski they can go away. So I just I think I've seen some areas where it's just on the front and I've seen some areas where it's on the back and it's also, yes, and they're on both sides.