S k i

a n d

B a c k c o u n t r y

O p e r a t i o n s

lancheSafetyPlanwaswrittenandagreedto by both parties
outlining howthe programme was to be operated.This plan
includedminimumcertificationrequirementsforstaff
involved in avalanche control:

*AvalancheControl TeamMembers: CanadianAvalanche
Association Level 1 certification.

*Avalanche Control Team Leaders:CAA Level 2 certifi-
cation,Explosives Use Permit.

*Forecasters: In addition to the above certification, must
be members of the CAA.
As a result of these requirements,a more selective hiring
process was instituted and more training occurs both be-
fore and during each season. Wages have been increased
and, as a result,turnoveris less of a problem.All this in
turnraisedstandardsin theotheraspects ofthedepart-
ment as well, most notablyin pre-hospital care.
As this developed,a reassessment ofthe responsibili-
ties of the old Ski Patrol occurred as management began a
processofdefiningthenewSnowSafetydepartment.
Whereasinthe pastpre-hospitalcare wasthemajorre-
sponsibility of the Ski Patrol,now avalanchecontrol, risk
management andtrail work are allSnow Safety's responsi-
bility. This combined the workings of what hadessentially
beenthreedepartments:SkiPatrol,Warden/SkiPatrol
Avalanche Crew and Trail Crew. The work required from
thepreviousthree"departments"oftenoverlapped, and
with integration it became possible to combine and reduce
personnelrequirementswhilemaintainingadequate
coverageon the mountain. The resultingstreamlined crew,
however,required allstafftopulltogetherandworkat
whateverjob required the most attention.During a given
week, everyone, from the Supervisorto a rookie patroller,
mightberequiredtoworkonslatfenceusedin"snow
farming",attendaninjuredskierorparticipateinan
avalanche control route.To help assess what jobismost
important at any given moment,a priority list was devel-
opedtoassist theSupervisorsinallocating occasionally
scarce personnel:

*Have personnel in position to respond to all accidents
and lift,avalanche and otheremergenciesinsidethe
ski area; maintain avalancheclosures.

*Perform avalanchecontrol within the ski area.

• Respond to emergencies outside the ski area.
• Perform risk management and related trail work duties.
• Perform othertrail work,snow farming and otherdu-
  ties requested by ski area management.
  With its new responsibilities came the need forstructure
  in the Snow Safety department. It became obvious a new
  chain of command was needed. This has been a long proc-
  ess which continues to be refined. In 1990,the avalanche
  forecasteralsoacted asSnow Safety Supervisor.Hehad
  two assistants: one to help with avalancheforecasting and
  one tohelp oversee the otheraspects ofthe department.
  The Supervisor liaised with managementand other depart-
  ments in additionto overseeing all daily avalanche, pre-
  hospitalcare, riskmanagement and trailwork.The staff
  mostexperiencedinallaspectsofskipatrollingwere
  involved in avalanche control,and as such they became
  the nucleus ofthenew departmentand thesupervisory
  team.
  The problem with this scenario was one of an overload
  of responsibilities. There was not enough personnel or ex-
  perience forthe Supervisorto stand back and oversee the
  entire department,he was required to be closely involved
  in daily avalanche operations.This resulted in avalanche
  forecasting overshadowing other aspects of the job.After
  two seasons this was mitigated by the addition of a Snow
  Safety Manager position which was meant to take on most
  of the responsibilities forliaison with upper management
  and other departments. A good concept, this did not work
  well until the job was taken by someone with broad expe-
  rience in all aspects of snow safety. We have found it best
  that thispositionbefilledbysomeonewiththisback-
  
  ground.The SnowSafety Managerfreesthe three Snow
  Safety Supervisors (two avalanche forecasters and a patrol
  leader) to concentrate on daily operations.
  Working under the Snow Safety Supervisors are 4 Sen-
  ior AvalanchePatrollers. Their main dutiesare asteamlead-
  ers in snow research and avalanche control.In addition,
  they have become involved in otherfacets ofthe depart-
  ment such as training and acting as roving "troubleshoot-
  ers". They are not scheduled into the daily routine of run
  checksand accident coverage ortopatrolspecificareas
  which otherpatrollersaresubject to.Thishasoccasion-

Area Manager
|
Snow SafetyManager

Snow SafetySupervisors (3) - Snowmaking Supervisors - Grooming Supervisors

|
SeniorAvalanche Patrollers (4)
|
SeniorPatrollers (5)
|
Patrollers(13)

Table 1

204