By Kristi A. Ball, RN, EMT, OEC
When people imagine ski patrol, they usually picture someone in a red jacket carving smooth turns down the mountain, ready to help after a spill. And yes, that part is true. But what they don’t always see is the heart of the work: the blend of medicine, training, human connection, love of the outdoors and deep community that defines a day in the life of a ski patroller.
For me, ski patrol is where everything I care about comes together.
I’ve been skiing since I was two years old. My dad was a ski patroller, so I grew up with the idea that patrol wasn’t just a job — it was a way of giving back and a way of life. I trained as a patroller at 22, earned my EMT certification around the same time, and later became a nurse. More than 30 years later, I’m still patrolling, still learning, and still grateful every time I clip into my skis and head uphill, ready for whatever the day brings.
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From first chair to last sweep
At Lutsen Mountains in Northern Minnesota, my day begins around 8 a.m. We check in, grab radios, review the weather and snow conditions, and inspect medical and rescue equipment — oxygen, AEDs, trauma kits, splints, spinal immobilization tools and toboggans staged across the hill. Every patroller makes sure we’re fully prepared before the lifts start running.
Before the mountain opens, we take early runs to assess slope conditions and look for potential hazards left behind by wind, snow and overnight grooming. It’s also a rare pocket of quiet time to settle in, take a breath, and mentally prepare for whatever the day may bring. It’s during those early-morning moments that I’m reminded why I love this volunteer role.
Once guests arrive, the tempo changes. Calls tend to spike in the afternoon, and injury patterns shift with the conditions: icy mornings often mean high-speed falls and fractures, while soft snow leads to fatigue-related injuries and soft-tissue trauma.
By midday, we rotate to the other side of the mountain for lunch coverage, trading familiar terrain for fresh eyes.
Late afternoon often brings tired legs and changing snow, so we sharpen our awareness even more.
By 3:30 p.m., some runs begin to close, while lifts carry their final riders of the day.
At 4:00 p.m., we start our sweep — skiing every trail, ducking into trees and checking hidden corners for anyone left behind. Our final responsibility is to check that skiers and riders are safely off the hill and accounted for. Only then do we reset, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
Practicing EMS in an outdoor environment
What makes ski patrol medicine especially challenging is time. We’re about two hours from the nearest trauma center, which means we often provide prolonged field care. Helicopter transport is sometimes an option, but weather and visibility don’t always cooperate. As an EMT and ER nurse, I’ve managed airways, bleeding, fractures, spinal injuries, pain and shock — all while standing in deep snow and working on a slope.
Mountain medicine requires a different mindset. In urban EMS, help is usually minutes away. On the hill, you sometimes are the help. Terrain and weather vary.
That’s where National Ski Patrol’s extensive Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) training is invaluable. OEC teaches patrollers how to assess, treat, stabilize and evacuate patients in unpredictable, outdoor environments. For EMTs, it expands clinical skills and pushes you to think creatively, adapt quickly and add those outdoor skills.
In addition to OEC training, annual training includes medical refreshers, chairlift evacuations, technical rescue and ski proficiency.
One of the most complex incidents I’ve been part of was a chairlift evacuation during severe cold and high winds after a chair derailed. Dozens of guests were stranded overhead. While performing rope evacuations, we were simultaneously monitoring for hypothermia, frostbite, anxiety and medical complications. It required constant communication, precise technical execution, and careful triage. Moments like that remind me how vital teamwork and OEC training truly are.
Teamwork, trust and community
Clear leadership and trust among teammates are essential. Like any EMS system, ski patrol depends on coordinated scene management, communication and mutual reliance.
But patrol is more than a team. It’s a family.
We train together, celebrate good snow days together, and lean on each other after tough calls. The bonds formed through shared calls and purpose run deep. For EMTs accustomed to close-knit crews, patrol offers that same sense of belonging, strengthened by the beauty and recreation of the mountain environment.
And then there’s the broader community — the guests, families, and fellow skiers who trust us with their safety. Many of our patients are far from home and feeling uncertain. And some of those patients are the parents or chaperones of skiers, not the skiers themselves, with medical situations. Providing reassurance, clarity and calm becomes just as important as medical care.
Caring for strangers at their most vulnerable
As a mother of six and a grandmother, pediatric calls stay with me long after the shift ends. One of my most meaningful moments came when a child I treated, who later spent time in the ICU, returned the following season to visit. She was healthy and smiling, and her mother was standing with her. Seeing that full circle recovery is a reminder of why this work matters.
At the end of the day, ski patrol is about people — caring for strangers in their most vulnerable moments.
Why EMS professionals thrive on patrols
EMTs bring invaluable skills to ski patrol: clinical judgment, scene management, calm under pressure and patient-centered care. Ski patrol also expands those abilities with technical and athletic skills, as well as constant adaptability with the weather and terrain.
You will ski with heavy packs. You will climb uphill in ski boots. You will stabilize patients in deep snow. You will make complex transport decisions while balancing weather and terrain. And you will do it alongside teammates who become lifelong friends.
Ski patrol blends a love for mountain safety and skiing, snowboarding and cycling, with trauma care, rescue operations and environmental medicine. It challenges you, humbles you, and ultimately makes you a better clinician.
After more than three decades, I can say this: ski patrol is not just something I do. It’s part of who I am. It’s where medicine meets mountains and meaning, and where service becomes deeply personal.
For EMTs looking for challenge, growth, connection, and meaning, there is no better place to practice care than on the mountain patrol nearest to you — one patient, one run, one moment at a time. Contact your local ski area, or visit National Ski Patrol’s website (NSP.org) for more information.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristi A. Ball, RN, EMT, OEC, is a nurse and EMT in Minneapolis/St. Paul and ski patroller with more than 30 years of experience, serving at Lutsen Mountains in Northern Minnesota and with the Three Rivers Park District in Bloomington, Minnesota. She is also a National Board Member of National Ski Patrol and a lifelong first responder and skier.
