Sugar Bowl National Ski Patrol

Join

The first step in becoming a volunteer ski patroller at Sugar Bowl is to pass our ski check, then to take an “Outdoor Emergency Care” first aid course, a CPR Class, and lastly, to attend and successfully complete the on-the-hill training during the subsequent ski season. Please read this page and if you have additional questions contact our membership coordinator: joining@sugarbowlskipatrol.com

Why Patrol

In addition to saving lives and making a real & important impact in the ski community, you get to be working outside in the snow all day. You meet and help new people every day you patrol.

Great Skiing

Sugar Bowl boasts some of the best terrain in the Tahoe area. With >400in of snow on average a year, powder days are all but guaranteed!

Tight-Knit Community

With around 100 patrollers, you will have 100 new friends to ski with. If its getting a drink after work or celebrating someone passing a test, there’s always fun to be had!

Learn Unique Skills

In addition to first aid, you will be trained to an advanced level in toboggan handling. As a Class-A avalanche area, you will also gain a depth of snow-safety knowledge.

Famous for its lack of lines, steep advanced terrain, and of course tons of powder, Sugar Bowl is a shining gem of ski resorts. Since the resort is privately owned and operated, it lends itself to constructing a very tight-knit community of skiers. Because of these reasons, patrolling at Sugar Bowl is unique in the family it creates and the turns you can ski.

Benefits

As a patroller, you will receive a season ski pass at Sugar Bowl. If you are married, your spouse and children will also receive ski passes. If you are single, you will receive a one-day pass, which you may give to anyone, for each day you patrol. Candidates ski free, as long as they are in training or shadowing a patroller. Candidates and patrollers also get a meal card that entitles them to seasonally defined discounts at Sugar Bowl’s facilities.

The National Ski Patrol is a volunteer organization. As such, you will not be paid for your time. However, all your expenses associated with Ski Patrol (OEC textbook, CPR certification, clothing, equipment, meals, and lodging) are tax-deductible because the NSP is classified as a non-profit (consult your tax professional).

The best benefit of the Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol is the friendships and camaraderie you will develop as you patrol with the many exceptional people at Sugar Bowl.

Timeline

  • Previous Season

    Reach out to patrol to take & pass the ski check & optionally shadow. You can find a list of ski check dates here.

  • Summer/Fall

    Take an OEC and a CPR class to get your first aid certifications. You can find a list of OEC classes here.

    If you already have EMT-B, you can contest the exam and skip the class.

  • October/November

    Once you have your OEC, you can OPTIONALLY come to our Fall Refresher to learn, help out, and meet your future patrol family.

  • December

    Candidate Orientation is held in early December for you to get your pass and meet your candidate class.

  • January to Early April

    Candidate training is held on the second and fourth weekend of every month from January through early-April. You will be taught advanced toboggan handling and on-the-snow first aid. You will also gain mountain familiarity including runs, closures, sweep assignments, and secret pow stashes.

    You are highly encouraged to come on non-training weekends to shadow patrollers in action, which will give you extensive hands-on experience.

  • Mid-April

    After all of your training, you will take the on-the-hill candidate test at the end of the season. This test consists of a toboggan component (taking the sled down the test course) and a first aid component (on the snow).

    When you pass both tests, you will officially be a basic patroller and can wear the ski patrol uniform!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ski check?

The first step in becoming a ski patroller is to pass a ski check in the season before your candidate season, no later than mid-April. We are looking for skiers, snowboarders or teleskiers that are stable and confident anywhere on our mountain. This assures us that you have the requisite ski skills necessary to ski any type of terrain found at Sugar Bowl, because as a patroller you will be working on all of our terrain. We have a wide variety of terrain, and our conditions change dramatically throughout the year. We don’t expect pretty, but we do expect competence.

The ski check will consist of two or more runs. On the first one, we go through the basics: short radius turns, long radius turns, snowplowing, power-slides, herringbones, etc. We will demonstrate each of these skills for you so you know what we are expecting to see. On the second run, we will ski moguls, then do some kick-turns in a steep area, followed by some skiing in steep terrain.

When can I ski check?

2023-2024 Season On-the-Hill Ski/Board Test Schedule:

  • Sunday, January 21
  • Sunday, February 11
  • Saturday, March 23
  • Saturday, April 6

Please email us to let us know what date works best for you, whether you’ll be on snowboard, tele or alpine skis, and include your cellphone number. We’ll confirm your test date.

What is OEC?

OEC stands for Outdoor Emergency Care, the first aid certification that the National Ski Patrol issues and which most patrols use. After passing the ski check, the next step is to locate and sign up for an OEC course. This course is taught at several locations during the summer and fall, is approximately 80 hours total, and is normally scheduled for two evenings a week with some additional classes on Saturdays. Past locations have included Roseville, Piedmont, Santa Rosa, Modesto, San Ramon, Tahoe City, and Palo Alto, although locations can vary from year-to-year. There is also often a 2-week intensive course taught in the North Lake Tahoe region. This course covers the basics of trauma in an outdoor environment, with special emphasis on orthopedic and cold-related injuries (frostbite, hypothermia). OEC is comparable in scope to an EMT-B certification, but with more emphasis on trauma and less on medical emergencies. You can obtain additional information about OEC courses at nsp.org.

Where can I find an OEC Class?

Here is a list of local OEC Classes:

Do I also need to take CPR?

Yes! All patrollers are required to have a current Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification. You must also locate and signup for a CPR for Emergency Care Professionals course if your OEC course does not include this. CPR is taught at numerous locations, times, and dates. The American Red Cross, among others, provides this training. Search the internet for local classes. You must recertify your CPR on an biennial basis.

What is the Fall Refresher?

Since OEC requires annual recertification, most patrols host a refresher weekend in the months before the season starts to refresh their first aid skills and recertify their OEC cards. As a candidate, you have the option of coming to Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol’s fall refresher with the NSP volunteers and the professional Sugar Bowl patrollers. This training refreshes patroller’s skills such as OEC, avalanche search and rescue, chairlift evacuation, and hill protocols.

You need to keep current OEC and it is encouraged, but not required, that you refresh at Sugar Bowl; if you are unable to make it and need to refresh, you can go to another patrol’s refresher.

What if I’m not the best skier but have a ton of first aid/medical skills?

Typical “Alpine Patrollers” become certified in first aid, sled handling, and skiing disciplines. However, we also have a limited number of patrol positions, called Auxiliary Patrollers, for those who have excellent OEC skills but do not possess the ski skills required of the on-the-hill ski patrol. The primary responsibility of these patrollers is staff Sugar Bowl’s first aid room for half-day shifts, providing OEC. The remainder of the shift is spent skiing on the hill and providing OEC as needed. Auxiliary Patrollers receive identical benefits as all other patrollers and the candidate training program for Auxiliary Patrollers is the same as for other patrol candidates, but without toboggan training. As your skiing ability improves, you are able and encouraged to train with toboggans and become an Alpine Patroller.

What is the deal with lodging or what if I need a place to stay?

Most patrollers not located in the North Tahoe area share cabin rentals during the ski season. Costs can run anywhere between $700-1,200 per season (December to April). Start looking for a place to stay in summer or fall, since cabin space fills up quick. There are also several ski clubs nearby that often offer memberships to patrollers including The Viking Ski Club, The Oakland Ski Club, The Pennisula Ski Club, and Skolars Ski Club. Ask around and see what other patrollers did during their candidate season!

I am already a patroller at another hill and want to switch to Sugar Bowl (Affiliate Transfer).

Thank you for your interest in Sugar Bowl! We allow you to keep your other hill’s membership while going through our candidate training season. We generally grant affiliate membership for patrollers who are looking to join Sugar Bowl Ski Patrol or patrollers who have relocated to this area and cannot meet the minimum activity requirements at their home area.

If you are interested in switching over to Sugar Bowl Patrol, you will need to pass our ski check and spend a season as an “affiliate candidate” following the same training curriculum as all candidates to get you up to speed on how we do first aid and handle toboggans, as well as giving you mountain familiarity.

© Sugar Bowl National Ski Patrol (2023-)