Today was COLD. -8 at the summit, with a blustery wind that kept some of the lifts from operation.
After repeated runs up to the summit with the doo through snow making fog and swirling blindness, transporting personnel and then toboggans, the fingers felt frozen, toes too. (And I am just recovering from a rather uncomfortable bout with frost nip toes.)
Those "tear 'em open chemical warmers sure are nice, and the battery boot heaters are a treat!
With a fresh snow fall, snow making, and the wind, there was lots of snow shoveling needed to start the day. By 8:30 I was a ball of sweat and thirsty to boot.
Mountain opens at 9:00
The morning was checking trails, setting boo, and adding signs where hidden hazards lurked. (We did just have a massive thaw)
Then the crap hit.
A call that didn't sound so good. I was second after the bullet. O2, collars and trauma pack on the rack behind me on the doo.
TBI,
Restraint to resuscitation and back again. A tough one.
As we pulled in to BFA, I caught glimpse of a youngster just kicking off his skis near the approach to the unloading area.
After the injured party went out , first by ambulance, and then by helio, There was some clean up outside to do.
The kid was still there!
It was only a few paces over to where he lay on the snow, so I walked over and set myself down to his eye level. Tears were in his eyes.
"What's UP?" .... ,
.... "I'm lost..........I skied ahead of my Dad and sister".
"Want to go inside and see if we can get you back together with your father?".
... "OK"
Seven year old. 'knew his mom's phone number but not his dad's.
The kid helped with the dialing on my cell phone.
"Yep! I'll get his father over there right away" his mother's voice came over the speaker phone.
Conner's eyes lit up, the tears dried, and a smile hardly held back the torrent of words that came out of his relief.
We talked about magnets and compasses and how one needed to know where they were in order to find the way forward..
I needed that. I had to get back up top, so our BFA attendants were introduced and given Conner's status as I went back to work.
The pace of activity continued all afternoon, responses to calls (codes) , transportation , and mountain maintenance. Time passed quickly, The daylight hours are getting longer.
I can't seem to shake the fellow that went out in the helio, ...................7 year old Conner helped a LOT!
It's late, I just spent an hour spot staining my parka in preparation for it's bi-seasonal washing.
Red shows the dirt, not the blood.
The weekends are off for my schedule. Snow expected Saturday evening and through the night. I might skin up Sunday... just to check out what's going on at the summit.
After repeated runs up to the summit with the doo through snow making fog and swirling blindness, transporting personnel and then toboggans, the fingers felt frozen, toes too. (And I am just recovering from a rather uncomfortable bout with frost nip toes.)
Those "tear 'em open chemical warmers sure are nice, and the battery boot heaters are a treat!
With a fresh snow fall, snow making, and the wind, there was lots of snow shoveling needed to start the day. By 8:30 I was a ball of sweat and thirsty to boot.
Mountain opens at 9:00
The morning was checking trails, setting boo, and adding signs where hidden hazards lurked. (We did just have a massive thaw)
Then the crap hit.
A call that didn't sound so good. I was second after the bullet. O2, collars and trauma pack on the rack behind me on the doo.
TBI,
Restraint to resuscitation and back again. A tough one.
As we pulled in to BFA, I caught glimpse of a youngster just kicking off his skis near the approach to the unloading area.
After the injured party went out , first by ambulance, and then by helio, There was some clean up outside to do.
The kid was still there!
It was only a few paces over to where he lay on the snow, so I walked over and set myself down to his eye level. Tears were in his eyes.
"What's UP?" .... ,
.... "I'm lost..........I skied ahead of my Dad and sister".
"Want to go inside and see if we can get you back together with your father?".
... "OK"
Seven year old. 'knew his mom's phone number but not his dad's.
The kid helped with the dialing on my cell phone.
"Yep! I'll get his father over there right away" his mother's voice came over the speaker phone.
Conner's eyes lit up, the tears dried, and a smile hardly held back the torrent of words that came out of his relief.
We talked about magnets and compasses and how one needed to know where they were in order to find the way forward..
I needed that. I had to get back up top, so our BFA attendants were introduced and given Conner's status as I went back to work.
The pace of activity continued all afternoon, responses to calls (codes) , transportation , and mountain maintenance. Time passed quickly, The daylight hours are getting longer.
I can't seem to shake the fellow that went out in the helio, ...................7 year old Conner helped a LOT!
It's late, I just spent an hour spot staining my parka in preparation for it's bi-seasonal washing.
Red shows the dirt, not the blood.
The weekends are off for my schedule. Snow expected Saturday evening and through the night. I might skin up Sunday... just to check out what's going on at the summit.