By Geoff Scotton, Calgary Zone patroller (geoffscotton@skipatrol.ca) and Kerri Loudoun, Western Zone patroller (kerri.loudoun@skipatrol.ca)
Although I am an avowed skier, snowboarding has been a part of my patrol experience since I joined the CSP in 2002. It’s been a very positive part of my patrol experience.
In my early days I was delighted that the CSP had the insight and foresight to integrate snowboarders and snowboarding into the patrol in the 1990s; since then, I have learned that snowboarders have maneuverability advantages over skiers in certain types of terrain and conditions. They also have way warmer boots! I will admit I am jealous of warmer and more comfortable boots that are also orders of magnitude easier to walk in and even stand in, for race duty.
Like many who grew up skiing, snowboarding at first seemed somewhat foreign, although I quickly learned that boarders have the same passion for gliding down the hill and using terrain and features for some fun and excitement that skiers have. I quickly reached a state where I concluded that from a competency and effectiveness standpoint, patrollers that ski and patrollers that snowboard are essentially indistinguishable.
That parity can be seen among paid patrollers at some marquee resorts, where the proportion of snowboarders sometimes exceeds that of skiers.
While skiers can climb and skate more readily, snowboarders arguably have advantages in toboggan handling in steep and narrow terrain due to their ability to stay on their heel edge. In many patrol environments, I believe the advantages and disadvantages of skiing versus snowboarding, or snowboarding versus skiing is really a zero-sum game. We all want to help people and have a bit of fun doing so. And that, after all, is what the Canadian Ski Patrol is all about.
– Geoff Scotton, Calgary Zone patroller
When I joined the ski patrol, I had been snowboarding for 10 years. And at that time, there were few snowboard patrollers on our area’s team in 2015.
I certainly experienced the usual jabs from my fellow teammates who were patrolling on skis, but I have always felt immense pride to represent the CSP as a snowboarder, especially when chatting with young people on the chairlift. Many folks are still surprised that patrollers can be on a snowboard as there is still a common misconception that all patrollers are skiers (I suspect our title “ski patroller” perpetuates this notion even in 2024.)
But I’ll admit, I am quite envious of the agility that my ski colleagues have … especially when moving around on flat terrain and on scene. And the speed of exiting the chair lift and not having to stop to do up bindings gives skiers an edge (but Burton’s Step On bindings are helping the snowboarders out in this area). Learning to maneuver the toboggan on a pitch brought me back to the basics – literally. Heel slide was one of the very first skills in snowboarding I learned, well before turning. For my skier teammates, falling leaf is not one of the first skills you learn in skiing, they told me.
And, to flip the script, in 2018 I decided I wanted to learn to ski, so I could get on snow certified in both disciplines. Now, I recertify for on snow in each allowing me a choice of what to patrol on at the start of each shift depending on the snow conditions, the number of teammates I’m working with, or if I want to practice some discipline-specific skills and techniques.
I am passionate now about both sides of the alpine world, and being able to patrol on either gives me a bigger toolbox to pull from when doing transportation or treatment of patients because I am familiar with injuries of both snowboarders and skiers firsthand.
As I spend more years on patrol, I am also seeing more and more snowboarders join patrol teams in areas across the country. And what’s even more exciting is the ages of snowboarding patrollers aren’t reserved for those under the age of 25!
But I’ll admit, my snowboard boots will forever be the most comfortable outside footwear I own. Sorry skiers, but these ski boots are uncomfortable for doing any movement outside of being in our bindings going down the pitch.
– Kerri Loudoun, Western Zone patroller
This post is also available in: French