HillCaptainGuidelines

1 Hill Captains (HC)

The Hill Captain is the representative of the Patrol Director and the Sierra Ski Patrol (SSP) Board of Directors for their assigned days. They are responsible for ensuring that patrollers comply with the Patrol Bylaws and the Policies and Guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors and Procedures required of Sierra-At-Tahoe (SAT) management. As Hill Captain you will be asked to provide a brief email report to the Patrol Director regarding significant issues, key events, OTH policy & procedure changes, and activities that occurred during the day you are Hill Captain (See Section 6.0 of these Guidelines). The Patrol Director will summarize key issues and report them to the patrol at large. HC assignments will be made from the weekend/holiday sign-up list obtained at the dry-land refresher and as maintained by the Asst. Patrol Director (T&T). Any basic patroller can be asked to perform HC duties provided they have attended both days of the dry-land Refresher at SAT and have read and are familiar with these guidelines. Please do not assume the responsibilities of the Hill Captain if you do not feel comfortable with these responsibilities. If you are assigned a weekend/holiday HC duty and cannot make it, you are responsible for attempting to enlist a volunteer replacement for that day. Check if one of the people already assigned can perform your task. If no one is available contact the Patrol Director or Assistant Patrol Director (T&T) as soon as practical to help resolve the staffing problem. If you are the Hill Captain you should assign Lead patrollers to each side of the hill. These are the “eyes and ears” of the Hill Captain to make sure that there is sufficient coverage and that things are working smoothly.

1.1 Grandview Lead

1.2 Westbowl Lead

2.0 Sign-In Procedures

2.1 Arrival Times. Arrive early by 7:00 am on weekends and Holidays.

This will allow you to setup the Patroller Sign-in Sheet, Daily Duty Roster, Lift Ticket Voucher sheets, and have the Logbook ready. The Patroller Sign-in Sheet, Daily Duty Roster sheets, and Logbook are all located in the National Patrol Room. Sign-in will be performed in the Patrol room, so have all the sign-in materials ready at that location. Cut off time for signing on is 7:30 am patrol room. Patrollers assigned that day, patrollers and candidates in T&T, and all other patrollers should be in their boots and ready to go by 7:30 am. Remind people of that often. At least 5 patrollers, including the assigned day patrollers, should be ready at 7:30 to assist the Pros with hill setup. Get one of the TLs to organize and match up patrollers to a Pro for setup. All other patrollers should also be in their boots and ready to go by 7:30 am on weekends and holidays. At 7:30 am hold a roll call and make sure all volunteers are on time for the morning meeting to hear announcements and daily assignments.

2.2 Weekend/Holiday Sign in Sheet

Have patrollers leave their patrol card and sign in on the Patroller Sign in Sheet and mark their status. Patroller should sign in as soon as they arrive in the patrol room area. Push them to get going. They should mark their patrol status for the day (T, OTH, A, TL, etc.). Use these designations during the setup of the duty roster. Obviously, a person doing training until noon will not be able to make a 10:00 assignment. Everyone who signs in should have: 1) Their Patrol Card (OEC and CPR cards should be encouraged to be handed in along with patrol cards) 2) A complete uniform (parka, cross, patches, name tag, fanny pack, etc.) Individual patroller Log Book sheets should be quickly checked prior to patroller deployments to determine if missing sign-on requirements exist. Do not sign-on anyone who has missing requirements unless alternative arrangements are made to complete missing requirements. Do not sign anyone on whom you believe, in your judgment, is not capable of performing basic on-the-hill ski patrol duties. Fill in the patrol cards and hold them until after sweep. Individual Patroller Log Sheets should be filled in and initialed. Individual Patroller Log Sheets must have the appropriate patrol day initialed and circled by the Hill Captain. Any patroller signing in after 7:30 am must have prior approval to do so or a valid excuse and their tardiness must be marked on the patroller binder sheet! It is at the HC and Pro Patrol Director’s discretion to let late sign in occur. The Patrol Director will review situations of excessive or repeated tardiness and recommend appropriate action to the Board of Directors.

2.3 Weekday Sign in:

During mid-week, a sign-in sheet is to be used for the patrol's records and for sweep assignments. Coordinate with the Pro Patrol Director for sweep assignments.

2.4 Daily Assignment Sheet and Duty Roster:

Set up the Daily Assignment Sheet and Duty Roster from the Patroller Sign in sheet. Understand patroller limitations when setting up the daily assignments (as designated by their status input). For example, a patroller involved in training usually cannot make a 10:00 am Nob Hill duty or Speed bump duty. 10:00 AM is the typical start time for on the hill duties if they are in effect at the discretion of the Pro Patrol Director. This time can be started earlier on busy days or later / not at all depending on crowds and number of patrollers.

2.4.1 Auxiliary Assignments.

Auxiliary assignments are located at the bottom of the Daily Assignment Sheet. They are to coordinate with the First Aid room supervisor when to staff the FA room. Auxiliaries may be given a sweep assignment at the discretion of the Hill Captain. Special on-the-hill assignments can also be given to auxiliaries if patrollers are required – again, at the discretion of the Hill Captain.

2.4.2 Candidate Assignments.

Candidates are not given any individual assignments -- including sweep assignments. They are required to be accompanied by at least a basic patroller at all times. They will attend a sweep with the patroller they are skiing with at sweep time and sweep while accompanying that patroller – unless otherwise directed by the Hill Captain.

2.5 Assignment Schedule:

The Asst. Patrol Director T&T is responsible for preparing an Assignment Schedule for the season based on the days that we signed up by each patroller at the dry-land refresher. The Assignment Schedule should indicate which side of the mountain that patroller is assigned for the day. It is the Hill Captain’s responsibility to ensure that patrollers with assigned days understand that they are expected to patrol that side of the mountain and that the respective bump stations (Grandview or West Bowl) is their “home base” for the day. Each patroller should be pre-assigned for at least 8 days per season on this Assignment Schedule. A copy of the assignment schedule should be in the Patrol Binder. The Hill Captain should check to make sure that each patroller with a pre-assigned day showed up to patrol that day. Patrollers who can’t make their pre-assigned days are expected to find a replacement for that day. The Hill Captain should make and appropriate notation on the Assignment Schedule in the Patrol Binder regarding whether a patroller has made their assigned day.

2.6 Grand View and West Bowl Sweep Assignments

The Assignment Sheet has two sides, one for Grandview (left) and one for West Bowl (right). Sweep assignments should be made so as to balance overall skill level between the 2 sides. Each side should have at least one Team Leader assigned for that entire day. In addition, patrollers pre-assigned for that day should be placed on either the Grandview or West Bowls sides at the discretion of the Hill Captain. At the discretion of the Pro Patrol Director and SAT management, other patrollers who are not pre-assigned may also be assigned to a single side of the mountain for the entire day.

2.6.1 Single-Side Only Option.

This configuration is very easy for the Hill Captain. Each patroller is assigned to a single side (Grand View or West Bowl) for the entire day. No patroller is allowed to switch sides except at the discretion of the Hill Captain or the Pro Patrol Director. While patrollers may ski the entire mountain, it is expected that they will check in at their “home side” at least every other lift ride. Further, patrollers are expected to return to their home base immediately when radio traffic indicates patrollers are need on that side of the mountain. The Hill Captain is responsible, at all times, for ensuring that there is adequate coverage on both sides of the mountain based on the number of available patrollers.

2.6.2 Side-Switching Option

If allowed by the Patrol Director and SAT Management, volunteer patrollers who are not specifically assigned to a single side for the entire day (i.e., Team Leaders, pre-assigned patrollers, and those assigned by Hill Captain) may, at the discretion of the Hill Captain be allowed to switch sides. This is a more difficult option for the hill captain to manage – particularly when preparing the daily assignment sheet: • The first step to clearly identify those individuals who are expected to patrol one side for the entire day (Pre-assigned Team Leaders and patrollers. Each side must have at least 2 patrollers who are specifically assigned to that side of the mountain for the entire day. This is to ensure that there is a core of volunteer patrollers available at all times to that side of the mountain for the entire day. The Daily Assignment Sheet must clearly indicate those patrollers who are assigned to either Grand View or West Bowl for the entire day. • The next step is to identify those patrollers who are allowed to switch at mid-day between the times of 12 noon and 1 pm. Patrollers who are allowed to switch must be prepared to eat lunch at the tope of one of the two sides that day. Patrollers switching sides may not eat their lunch at the bottom of the mountain. Switching patrollers are assigned on the Daily Assignment Sheet to the side that they will be on at the time of Sweep. However, a notation should be made to indicate that they will be on the other side during the morning. • The final step is to check to ensure that there will be balanced coverage on the hill in both the morning and the afternoon periods. The Hill Captain should carefully review the daily assignment sheet to ensure that this is the case.

2.7 Nob Hill Sweep

The Nob Hill Sweep assignments are not indicated on the daily assignment sheet. Nob Hill Sweep assignments are typically made at the West Bowl Bump station at the end of the day around 3:30 pm. One TL is given Nob Hill sweep to run sweep activities and to assign Nob sweep duties to the other patrollers. Patrollers will typically be transported to the top of Nob Hill with a Snowmobile after the runs on the West Bowl side have been swept. A minimum of 3 patrollers is required to conduct the Nob Hill sweep – 4 is preferable.

2.8 Radios.

Nationals have 15-20 radios available for assignment. The Hill Captain and one TL for each side of the mountain each get a radio. That should leave 12-17 radios to assign patrollers. Radio assignments are made out at the discretion of the HC. The HC should try to assign radios to Patrollers who are assigned that day. Every attempt should be made to distribute radios to all patrollers. In the case of an emergency (i.e. lift evacuation) patrollers may be asked to give up radios to more experienced patrollers (i.e. TLs). Make this clear to all radio carriers. Note: Try to rotate radio use as much as possible to get everyone involved. However, trade this rotation with assigned skill base for that day. Try to assign an even number of radios to West Bowl and Grandview Sweep -- with more radios going to Grand View, if applicable. Designate patrollers with radios on the assignment sheet with the radio number in the radio column.

2.6 Auxiliaries

Auxiliary patrollers are typically assigned a FA room duty in blocks of 2 - 3 hrs.: 11:00 - 1:00, 1:00 - 3:00, and 2:00 - 4:00. The afternoon overlap is to cover the usually busy afternoon. Auxiliary’s can be on call during their assignment at the discretion of the FA Supervisor. They should regularly check in with the FA room by phone. Auxiliaries should be assigned radios if there are sufficient radios after all "on-the-hill” patrollers have received their radios.

2.7 Roster Copies

Once sign in and assignments are completed, copies have to be made and distributed to the locations listed below. Leave the originals in the patrol room to be used for sign out. Copies can be made on the copier in the first aid room.

1. Patroller Sign in Sheet - One copy: Pro Patrol Director
2. Daily Assignment Sheet - Nine Copies: Pro Patrol Director Asst. Pro Director First Aid Room Hill Captain Assistant TL(Grandview) Assistant TL (West Bowl) Grand View Bump West Bowl Bump Patrol Room Door

2.8 Lift Ticket Voucher Procedures

The Lift Ticket Voucher Sheets may be made from a Xerox copy of the patroller sign-in sheet with an appropriate notation made by the Hill Captain regarding the Lift Ticket Vouchers that are to be given to each patroller. The Lift Ticket Voucher status of each patroller should be clearly indicated at the top right of their individual Logbook page (Family Pass, 2-vouchers, 1 voucher, or no vouchers should be clearly indicated). The Hill Captain gives the Lift Ticket Voucher sheet to the Base Station personnel who will in-turn provide the Hill Captain with vouchers for distribution prior to the end of the day. Probationary patrollers (designated by the non-white binder sheet) do not get their lift vouchers until they have met all requirements of their probation and their log card has been signed by the Patrol Director or an Assistant Patrol Director (T&T or Admin). Patrollers who are Primary Members or Team Leader receive additional voucher or family pass benefits. Depending on points received (40+) or TL status, a patroller may receive a season pass for their family, or they will receive two ski lift vouchers for a day of skiing. Check to see what benefit they get as indicated on each patrollers binder sheet. Patrollers who received family season passes do not receive any voucher except as may be specially determined and provided by SAT management. You must pick up the vouchers prior to the end of the day and place the name of the appropriate patroller on the voucher. ’ Please – do not be pushy with SAT staff to obtain the vouchers – but you should receive them prior to the mountain closing for the day.

3 Bump Supervisor Duties:

As bump supervisor, the HC and TL Assistants will oversee operations for their half of the mountain. They will try to monitor and regulate lunch staffing and hill duties across all patrollers on their side. They are to monitor which patrollers made their duties by reviewing the bump copy of the assignment sheet to see if a patroller initialed his name. The intent of the supervisor role is to insure that all patrollers are attempting to put in equal efforts and to act as an organizer if something important occurs.

4 Sign out procedures:

Sweep sheet must be signed by every patroller and candidate indicating the runs they swept. If no sweep was performed, there should be an indication why (i.e. first aid room, transport, etc.). Make sure all radios have been checked in. Patrollers are to cross their name off the sign-on sheet when coming in after sweep in order to clear the mountain. Make any needed announcements when everyone is present. Use this time to discuss any problems or to acknowledge good deeds that came up during the day. Return patrol cards after the hill has been called clear. Hand the Ski vouchers to Pro Patrol Director for signature. Do not expect to get them back quickly. If Patrollers needs their voucher for the day, collect them and request the Pro Patrol Director to sign them as soon as he can. Be understanding in these regards, DO NOT demand a signature right away.

5 Reporting Procedures

Within 2 days after a Hill Captain’s duties, the Hill Captain should send the SSP Director/Representative a brief e-mail note regarding significant issues that occurred during that patrol day. This could include procedural changes, new equipment, major incidents, exemplary performance, mistakes and problems. The purpose of this is to provide the PD/PR information that can be generally retransmitted to the patrol as a whole.