Washington Ski Touring Club

Volunteers Needed for Nordic Patrol

We are getting a lot of snow at Mt. Rainier this year, and need help patrolling the trails and keeping up with the prodigious snowfall.

For those of you new to the ski club and to remind those of you who already know how much fun it is, the Nordic Patrol consist of volunteers who patrol the trails at Paradise and Longmire and help the National Park Service (NPS). This season we need volunteers to ski on two-day weekends and longer holiday weekends between the months of November and April.

The typical duties of a Nordic Patroller include resetting poles on ski trails, digging snow pits to assess avalanche potential, radioing the NPS staff on snow conditions, and helping park visitors. Depending on your skiing ability, there is terrain that ranges from track skiing the Reflection Lakes Road, telemarking down Mazama Ridge, or climbing with skins to reach Panorama Point. Telemark skis and stiff boots are recommended for most trails, but there are two trails that can be done with touring equipment. Avalanche beacons, snow shovels, and the ability to control skis on steep slopes is also recommended. In exchange for all this great skiing, the NPS provides us free entry into the park, a spacious cabin at Longmire, transportation up to Paradise, and training classes on avalanche safety and search and rescue techniques.

The free lodging at Longmire consists of a cabin with 8 beds, a kitchen, living room, 1 bathroom, and a drying room in the basement. The park rangers provide a vehicle for transportation up to Paradise and other points whenever you need it, and they offer excellent training courses. This is a great deal! You get two days of skiing at Mt. Rainier, free lodging, transportation, and training, all for volunteering a weekend to help the NPS. We hope to see you up at Mt. Rainier this winter!

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