For every ski resort, there needs to be a method of protection. For every possible injury, there needs to be people who help those that are injured and assist in medical aid if necessary. That’s where the ski patrol comes in.

Dedicated to taking care of injured guests, the ski patrol has been around for as long as Eldora has been a resort. Currently, there are three divisions of the ski patrol – Pro, Volunteer, and Young Adult. This year, the Young Adult ski patrol will be celebrating its tenth season at Eldora.

However, this is not the first iteration of the Young Adult ski patrol. Co-directors Roman Sanchez and Travis Brock re-started the program when Sanchez’s son was in high school, and since that start-up, they’ve typically kept the group size to four or five teenagers. This year, they decided to accept a larger group, and over a dozen teenagers from Nederland, Boulder, and Longmont have joined the program.

In order to be a part of the Young Adult program, the teenagers have to be at least fifteen years of age and have to go through rigorous training. This training includes taking ski tests and enrolling in an Outdoor Emergency Care course, which teaches them first-aid and rescue skills. They also shadow the paid staff of Eldora and learn the ropes of ski patrolling, assisting with vitals, scene safety, etc.

Sanchez’s favorite parts about working with the ski patrollers include the development of camaraderie amongst the group, the teaching of great life skills that the students can use, and the ability to take care of those who need medical attention. Managing over a dozen “very excited teenagers,” according to Sanchez, is harder than managing a small group, but still well worth the effort.

Sanchez takes pride in the fact that the patrol is also a working patrol, assisting in tasks such as raising tower pads after storms, setting up boundary ropes, and participating in guest services. It’s rewarding to see kids he’s seen grow up on the mountain participate in the ski patrol, such as his son and young skier Trinity LeBlanc.

Teens participating in the Young Adult ski patrol at Eldora feel the same sentiment toward the group as its directors. Not only do these students have the opportunity to “shred fresh powder,” according to Aric Olson, a Young Adult ski patroller at Eldora, but also to assist skiers and learn new medical skills.

All Young Adult ski patrol members have been skiing almost their entire lives. Members LeBlanc and Hayden Camp have been skiing at Eldora ever since they were just two years old. Having been life-long skiers at Eldora, all members were excited to finally join the Young Adult ski patrol and be a part of the community.

The Young Adult ski patrol, too, has inspired students to possibly join either the volunteer or professional ski patrols later, when they are older and have more experience. Olson said that he would consider being on a professional ski patrol team after high school, and LeBlanc expressed her excitement about learning further medical aspects that are taught as a part of professional patrols.

Not only has the Young Adult ski patrol inspired its young members to further pursue professional ski patrols later in life, many of its members, like Camp, have expressed that the medical knowledge they’ve gained through patrol training has inspired them to participate in more medical training later in life.

For avid teen skiers in the Boulder County Area, the Eldora Junior Ski Patrol is the perfect community for members to learn medical skills, help others on the mountain, and just have an excitingly fun time skiing with friends.