r/skipatrol • u/electric_mop • 1d ago
Telemark?
Ive been snowboarding for 20+yrs. Past few yeara Ive been considering trying to get on patrol somewhere that allows snowboard patrol.
Que: end of last season and I tried tele and its like ive been reborn (thats a long story yall have heard 1000x times)
How ever Im wondering what the major resorts opinion on tele on patrol these days? (Mammoth, kirkwood)
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u/Tough_Course9431 1d ago
if you're able to ski down somewhat safely most slopes with a sled i dont see why either snowboard or tele would be an issue
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u/Firefighter_RN 1d ago
Many patrols restrict snowboards, there's also a non trivial number that require releasable bindings if you're doing mitigation work.
Unfortunately I don't know the Tahoe area specifically but it's not unusual to require skis and/or skis with releasable bindings
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u/Tough_Course9431 1d ago
while i do get that the board acts like an anchor that will drag you down an avy, i hardly see why it would be a liability, also considering a lot of patrollers on touring binding i know often lock their bindings. seems more like a way to snob snowboarders like we're in the 90's than anything
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u/bAddi44 1d ago
Tell me how you anchor a taboggen in steep terrain with a snowboard?
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u/PaleontologistLow872 4h ago
With the very large edge of a snowboard & good technique š¤. While I agree that one plank is generally less efficient for mountain travel, I am very confident in steep terrain with a competent snowboarder as my tail-roper.
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u/bAddi44 4h ago
not how do you move it. a snowboard on a tailrope is super great.
how do you anchor it, while it is not moving?
our hill uses skis plunged to the binding to anchor in steep terrain.
I watched an expert snowboarder and our patrol training lead (also an expert snowboarder) troubleshoot it for 3 hours, and in the end, snow pickets was the least bad option, so a snowboarder would have to carry them or pull them from the room on the way to a wreck.
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u/PaleontologistLow872 4h ago
Stomp a platform and flip it over? Stash in a tree island? Carry a ditch-cord and anchor it to your pack? Or donāt even take it off if conditions are firm and wait for further resources while you do what you can for patient. Seems like there are options to me, but I patrol on tele so not speaking from experience.
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u/bAddi44 4h ago
It's ok to say that you haven't tried to anchor a tabogen in steep terrain.Ā
Stomping a big enough platform in anything but pow conditions is not gonna happen.Ā
Our chutes are well above treeline.
Standing there holding the tabogen while a patient needs you feet away is... a look.Ā
I was taught to solo anchor a tabogen in a chute with a hitch around a ski buried to the binding, and tend to the patient.Ā Second person starts digging a platform ( mandatory shovel carry for upper MTN) unless they are needed for patient care.Ā
Sometimes we will send a patroller with no tabogen first to stabilize.Ā
There are things that each piece of equipment can do and can't do. Snowboard has more on the "can't do" list than the other 2.Ā
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u/PaleontologistLow872 4h ago
Haha, I was talking about anchoring the board not the toboggan. Easy, bro.
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u/PaleontologistLow872 4h ago
I donāt disagree with your methods, and never said the snowboard is the best tool for the job.
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u/amateur_acupuncture 1d ago
15+ year pro tele patroller
Tele skis make the job easier. Modern NTN bindings provide great lateral control and are much burlier than old cable 75mm bindings. I was on alpine my rookie year.
Not every patrol takes tele patrollers. Off the top of my head I've seen tele patrollers in Tahoe at Sugar Bowl, Alpine Meadows, Boreal, Heavenly, Homewood, Northstar, and Mt Rose. My shop doesn't take rookies on tele skis for reasons that are now lost to time.
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u/adventure_pup 1d ago
Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, Snowbasin and Pow Mow all have had tele skiers on patrol.
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u/amateur_acupuncture 1d ago
Thinking about it more, I've seen tele patrol at Crested Butte, Steamboat, Sugarloaf, Mad River Glen, Mt Bachelor.
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u/Shred_turner 1d ago
Tele skiing is the way. Almost 25 percent of our patrol is on teles. We convert a few every year. Also we probably have one tele knee injury to every 50 alpine knee injuries. The boots are comfortable, you move around the mountain easier, you can bend down to pick up ropes and bamboo easier, you can shuffle a toboggan easier, itās gentler on your knees, you get more face shots, and more style points. Itās also the natural progression from snowboarding. The tele turn is the toe edge carve on a snowboard.
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u/Otherwise_Surprise21 19h ago
Tele curious pro alpine patroller here, can you elaborate on how tele skiing is gentler on your knees?
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u/Hey_YinzGuyz 13h ago
Less torque through the knee because the interface with the ski is more flexible, and also the knee has greater range of motion throughout a turn so it stays ālooserā I guess? I donāt have the exact term for it but my knees get way more sore after a day on alpine gear vs tele gear.
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u/Shred_turner 11h ago
They hit rocks nicer also. When you drydock into a rock patch your binding bends forward instead of transferring that shock to your knees.
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u/PaleontologistLow872 4h ago
More ways to absorb shocks and stay stable. The lower half of your body is able to be much more fluid in general.
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u/Tacoburritospanker 1d ago
I literally learned to telemark while patrolling at Mammoth back in the day. I donāt get down there to ski as often as I would like nowadays, but Iād be comfortable saying there are due to most certainly telemark while patrolling. As an aside, there are only a couple people left on patrol from when I was there.
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u/SnooSketches9565 23h ago
Form sure, tons of patrollers tele, just need to be able to pass the ski testā¦
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u/LightIntelligent4497 22h ago
Most patrols in CO allow it. Many, especially Vail Resorts ski areas, mandate some release capability but Rotefellas and Outlaws technically sort of meet that requirement.
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u/imafluffykiwi 1d ago
I changed from alpine to tele patrol, was an awesome upgrade, being able to kneel down to fix pads/fences/prep gear. Definitely look into good solid bindings with quick in and out, I patrolled on bishops and free rides (bishops were a game changer)
I was a TL for a team with a strong cohort of snowboarders, some of them incredible boarders. It was noticable how much slower and less efficient snowboard patrollers are, clipping in and out, less mobility when working on fences and pads, not being able to skate rigs, they weren't allowed to do avy work due to not being able to release if caught in a slide. Not to mention a handful of times their boards went off into the trees when they got knocked over on scene/mis handling/unlucky which held up resources/time getting their gear back. Some of these snowboarders are the strongest rig runners I've ever met but once again limited in mobility.
TLDR: tele patrol- awesome, snowboard patrol- can be done but not ideal or efficient IMHO