Candidate Training Requirements

Once you have become a Ski Patrol Candidate, your training commitment includes the following:

  • Register as a National Ski Patrol candidate and pay the membership fee.
  • Successfully complete an OEC  course before your candidate season. OEC is an EMT-level class, requiring  approximately 90 hours of class time. The course is offered in the Bay Area,  Sacramento, and/or the Tahoe area, and costs approximately $200.00.
  • Successfully complete a  professional-level American Heart Association CPR class (which includes AED use)  prior to the fall refresher.
  • Attend our fall Outdoor Emergency  Care (OEC) Refresher weekend at Squaw Valley to meet patrol members and begin learning procedures – normally a weekend in late October.
  • Attend the early winter candidate orientation at Squaw Valley to tour the mountain and start developing OEC skills.
  • Attend all required training weekends during your candidate patroller season, learning about mountain  protocols, radio use, rescue toboggan handling, emergency scene management, and  on-the-snow first aid. A total of 22 days of training are required, including formal instruction, and shadowing experienced patrollers to see how things really happen. The more time you spend on the mountain, the better.
  • Successfully pass the skiing, scene management, and toboggan handling evaluation at the end of the candidate patroller season.

Go to Step 3: Enjoying the Rewards of being a qualified National Ski Patroller