Plus, ski patrollers regularly practice both personal and organized rescue techniques. About another 1000 do occasional avalanche control work at ski areas with less avalanche problems. Once you get a job at one of the more famous avalanche areas, it may take a couple years to get assigned to the more challenging avalanche control routes. It usually takes a few years to move up the ladder to the more challenging routes and to become a route leader. In general, Maritime areas get the most snow and do the most avalanche work.
Continental areas get the least snow and do the least amount of avalanche work.
Intermountain areas are somewhere in between. You receive constant training in all aspects of avalanche forecasting, control, and rescue, through training structures and historically proven mentoring processes. You learn about avalanches, weather, and terrain by hearing stories from a rich and colorful history. At some areas the pay is less than ideal, sometimes much less. People think that getting on a ski patrol is the hard part.