Risk-taking skiers a concern for Brookvale patrol
Ski patrol warning visitors not to venture off marked trails
Some fresh snow may look enticing for skiers to venture off marked trails in search of backcountry powder, but for safety reasons, officials with at Brookvale Ski Park are asking visitors not to give in to the temptation.
Craig Taggart, who has been with the Canadian Ski Patrol for the past 24 years, said if a skier or snowboarder gets hurt while off the trail, it will be difficult to find them.
"Coming from a first aid and ski patrol standpoint, we need to know where people are, and we patrol where the people are," he said.
Hidden dangers
Brookvale employees have caught some skiers and boarders in out-of-bound areas, and have issued a warning to stay on marked trails.
Skiing in out-of-bound areas is particularly dangerous in extreme cold weather, Taggart said, and can put not just the skier bit also the ski patrol in danger when they come to the rescue.
"Fresh powder, everyone's always looking for that. A nice, untouched bit of snow and the problem is, that little bit of untouched snow can hide some real dangers. There's lines for snow making, there are pipes, there's branches, there's rocks, there's all kinds of things that are hiding under the snow that you may not see."
Snow-making equipment
Taggart said there are normally four to six patrollers per shift, which allows two or three people to answer a call. If a much more serious call comes in such as a lost or injured skier or snowboarder who has gone beyond the safety lines, Taggart said it could require all of the hill's resources.
"We have seen it happen. I have seen it happen. We've had to stop some people and explain to them the dangers of it, and usually once we do that, people, they understand and they don't do it again, but it does happen."
Officials are also warning skiers and snowboarders to stay well away from snow-making equipment.
"The snow-making equipment is not a plug into your household electrical and watch it go," Taggart explained. "We're dealing with 600 volts of electricity, and it's not a stationery piece of equipment. It has the capability to be moved, so there are hoses and there's wires that are costing where people may decide to ski if they're out of bounds."
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