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Hood River News, Saturday, January 10, 2015
Backcountry Film Festival in HR Jan. 14
K IRK
Continued from Page A1
ever, Monday morning after
a long day of patrolling can
be very difficult.”
A day on patrol starts
early, with an “all-hands
meeting before the sun
comes up with (Mt. Hood
Meadow’s) pro patrol to get
briefed on the day ahead,” he
said. Briefing includes
weather and snow condi-
tions, groups on the moun-
tain that day, and “anything
else the patrol leads feel the
group should be aware of,”
he said. Next, patrollers are
given an opening assignment
and spend the next couple of
hours preparing for the day’s
guests.
“The rest of the day is
spent actively engaged with
whatever the mountain can
throw at us,” he said. “Week-
ends can be very busy, with a
steady stream of patients in
need of on-mountain med-
ical assistance, skiers or
snowboarders to be found,
rope lines to be fixed, and a
wide assortment of related
activity.
“The last hour or so is
spent closing the resort, with
the primary responsibly
being to make sure everyone
has made it safely off the
slopes.”
He finds ski patrol “an in-
teresting and unique blend of
being part of a team dynam-
ic, yet you are out there on
your own, to a large extent,
and it’s up to you how that
case is going to go,” Miller
explained. “Perhaps the
analogy is a tennis team, but
the cause can be dead seri-
ous at times.”
When a call for help comes
over the radio, “as a first re-
sponder to a case, your focus
begins by taking an immedi-
ate assessment of the situa-
tion at hand and determin-
ing how to safely secure the
patient, as well as yourself,”
Miller said. After an initial
evaluation to determine the
seriousness of the injury, the
patroller “takes a more de-
tailed assessment of the pa-
tient’s condition, determines
what equipment and/or as-
sistance is needed, and then
works to get the patient to a
higher level of care as quick-
ly and safely as possible.”
The most common injuries
Miller sees are lower leg in-
juries (such as sprained
A7
Submitted photo
VOLUNTEER MEMBERS of the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol participate in
an avalanche training. Volunteers are required to spend six months
in training before becoming part of the squad — both in the class-
room and on the mountain — with additional hours in training af-
terwards.
knees) for skiers and
sprained or broken wrists
for snowboarders. Concus-
sions are on the rise, too —
“The park contains large
ramps and other obstacles,
and hard landings are not
uncommon,” he said.
Ski patrollers are sta-
tioned at various locations
around the resort, with at
least one, but usually sever-
al, in an area. If a patroller is
not at the station, “they are
likely skiing around the re-
sort providing a visible and
active presence. Many cases
are responded to by a pa-
troller out on the hill who
happens to be close to the
scene,” he said.
He trained for the position
five seasons ago, an intense
process that took six months,
“which is done in both the
classroom as well as on the
mountain at each of the re-
sorts located on Mount Hood
(Timberline, Ski Bowl and
Mt. Hood Meadows),” he
said. The weekly four-hour
classroom sessions involved
medical first-responder
training geared towards an
alpine setting; another full
day each week was spent on
the mountain, “learning how
to deal with the equipment
and patients, in all snow con-
ditions, and in any type of
weather,” he said.
His first case on the moun-
tain involved a young boy
who had fallen 37 feet from a
chair lift, and he remembers
it well.
“My radio cracked to life
detailing where this hap-
pened and I gulped, and took
a deep breath as it dawned on
me that the location was
around the next bend and it
was me who would be re-
sponding first,” he said. “As I
skied up to the scene, not
only was the child laying on
the snow with obvious bro-
ken bones, but a half dozen
onlookers, with camera
phones out and taking it all
in, were waiting as well.
Thankfully, the boy’s in-
juries were not life threaten-
ing.”
His interest in the Mt.
Hood Ski Patrol took shape,
in part, thanks to his oldest
son, Hayden, now 19. (He and
wife, Jocelyn, also have son
Nate, 16.)
“(The year before train-
ing), I had found myself at
Mt. Hood Meadows every
weekend, playing taxi driver
for my (then) 14-year-old son,
who had landed his first job
at the resort,” Miller said.
“Spending all of that time up
there, I found myself watch-
ing the ski patrol more close-
ly, and it struck me as a chal-
lenging way to take my love
of skiing to the next level,
and a great way to be part of
something bigger than the
somewhat selfish pursuit of
endless skiing.
“What keeps me coming
back is that sense of being
part of something very real
and meaningful, but at the
same time, very loose and
fun, with a band of brothers
and sisters enduring the
same challenges together,”
Miller said. “In the end, ski
patrol gets in to your DNA.”
The Winter Wildlands Al-
liance Backcountry Film
Festival comes to Hood River
Jan. 14, with a free showing
of the festival’s nine video
pieces starting at 7 p.m. at
Double Mountain Brewery.
In its 10th year running, the
festival celebrates the
human powered winter expe-
rience through film. It aims
to entertain while helping to
raise funds and awareness
for Winter Wildlands and
their like-minded partners.
The festival premieres in
Boise, then travels to more
than 100 locations world-
wide. Along the way it raises
money for local organiza-
tions working on advocacy,
snow safety, outdoor educa-
tion and SnowSchool pro-
grams.
Films start at 7 p.m. but pa-
trons are encouraged to
come early to get seats and
participate in the raffle.
This year’s lineup:
■ From the Road (21:00):
Fischer Creative; Join the
Dynafit team on a journey to
Alaska.
Afterglow (11:35): Sweet-
grass Production; This visu-
ally spectacular film lights
up the backcountry like
never before
■ Backcountry Baker
(5:15): Jeremy Lurgio; The
story of Labrador retriever,
Baker, and his owner as they
pursue their love of moun-
tains through backcountry
skiing in Montana’s Bitter-
root Mountains.
■ Out on a Limb (6:44): T-
bar Films; The story of Vasu,
whose love for skiing and the
backcountry overcomes all
obstacles.
■ 95 to Infinity (3:30):
Doglotion Media; Follow
brothers Andy and Mike
Traslin as keep the torch lit
for 95 months of winter
turns.
■ IRS Traverse (8:00): Luc
Mehl; A fun and corky ad-
venture through the Alaska
Wilderness
■ Powder Pilg rima g e
(20:00): Joey Howell; Two
friends ventures of ski bum-
ming it to Valdez, a trip we
should all take just once.
■ Sundog (5:15): Sturge
Films; Capturing the dog
days of skiing in Patagonia.
■ Higher (20:00): Teton
Gravity Research; Continu-
ing the journey of athlete Je-
remy Jones as he reaches
new heights.
LOOSE CHANGE, NO DAMAGE
Police report at least six car prowls
Friday morning in Heights neighborhood
By KIRBY NEUMANN-REA
News editor
Hood River Police spent an
hour combing a Heights
neighborhood early Friday
morning following reports of
car prowls along June and
Pine streets between Fifth
and Seventh.
Officers Andy Frasier,
Jake Ferrer and Erin Mason
responded at about 6:30 a.m.
to two reports of unlawful
entering of vehicles, and
found indications of four
more once they started inves-
tigating.
In all cases, the cars had
been unlocked and had likely
been entered sometime be-
tween 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., ac-
cording to Frasier. He said
the main items taken were
loose change and in one case
a coin purse, according to
Frasier.
Police had no suspects at
press time, and in none of
the cases was anyone seen in
or around the vehicles.
One homeowner reported
a set of golf clubs taken from
a car, and the bag and clubs
were found in bushes nearby,
apparently shaken down for
change.
“This person isn’t into
breaking car windows, but is
going for loose change and
rummaging through un-
locked cars,” Frasier said.
“Once we got up there we
found doors open and dome
lights on,” he said. There
was no apparent damage to
any of the vehicles.
Frasier offered this advice
to prevent a similar crime:
lock your car and take out
any valuables.
“Park your car as close to
the house as possible,” Frasi-
er said. “If you have a porch
light, park the car under it or
near it — light is a discour-
agement.”
The Dec. 3 Hood River
News reported 10 car prowls
in a two-week period, pri-
marily in a west Hood River
neighborhood. Police chief
Neal Holste had described
these as crimes of “the walk-
ing alongside” variety, in
which rather than breaking
in, the car burglars check for
unlocked doors and then slip
inside to see what they can
find.
Bicyclist hits pedestrian at 12th and May
On Jan. 8, 2015, at about
1:24 p.m., Hood River Police
Officers and Hood River
Fire/EMS responded to a
crash involving a bicyclist
verses a pedestrian at the in-
tersection of 12th and May
streets. The investigation
concluded that the bicyclist,
Richard Christie, 23, of Hood
River, was riding north-
bound on the sidewalk of
12th Street. Christie struck
the pedestrian, Susan Mas-
sart, 68, of Hood River. Mas-
sart was waiting to cross the
street at the intersection of
May and 12th.
Both Massart and Christie
were transported to Provi-
dence Hood River Memorial
Hospital by Hood River EMS.
Massart sustained head in-
juries and a large laceration
to her right lower le g.
Christie was not wearing a
helmet and sustained head
and face injuries.
Christie was issued a cita-
tion for Unsafe Operation of
a Bicycle, which is a Class D
violation. The maximum
penalty is $110.
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