But first on the agenda is medicine. To be a member of the ski patrol, he said, every member is required to have medical training to at least the first responder level. It's all volunteer. We don't get paid anything. The fact that the patrol requires stringent medical training, belongs to the national ski patrol and does its job so well earned the organization a Ski Patrol of the Year Award two years ago, for which the group received a rescue toboggan to use.
Equipment is has come piecemeal.
A small shed that had outlasted its usefulness was replaced when a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer from the Grand Forks floods became available. On any given day, there can be six ski patrol members at Huff Hills. By the time the ski patrol has used a backboard for an injured person on-scene, attached a neck brace, gotten the person into the rescue toboggan and skied the toboggan to the bottom of the slope, Metro Ambulance from Bismarck has often already arrived. The drive to Huff takes about 20 minutes. Jackie Trout, a paramedic from Bowman, said she likes being on the ski patrol because it gives her a way to force herself to leave work behind for a while.