National_Ski_Patrol_(shield)

 

Ski Patrollers, the guardians of the mountains. The ones you hope you don’t have to meet, but are grateful to see when you do get hurt. Recently, ski patrollers across the country have been looking into unionizing. Some patrollers like to think of themselves as cops and firefighters, which in a way, they are similar. Ski patrollers risk their lives and put themselves in danger, just to help us. Most people that I speak with see working as ski patrol is a ski bum job and think that they don’t do much. In fact, becoming a ski patroller requires a lot of training and isn’t so easy. Most people don’t realize how difficult it is for ski patrollers. They receive little to no benefits, don’t receive a 401k or any form of retirement package, and get paid very little. It finally got to the point where they decided enough is enough, they deserve more, and in my opinion, I agree. When you look at some resorts, like Vail (who are purchasing other mountains left and right and charge close to $200 for a single day lift ticket), you know they have some extra money to spend, so why not offer some  better benefits to your employees, in this instance, patrollers. There is a great article that goes into depth about this. You can read it by clicking here. It’s worth the time checking it out.

Thinking of Snow,

Justin P