Responsibility

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 501, 31 August 1993, Page 4 (Supplement)

Responsibility

The skifields also put out a Skier's Responsibility code which includes: A Ski in control, excessive speed is dangerous. A When skiing downhill or overtaking, always give way to the skier below you. A When stopping on a . slope, always stop where you can be seen from above and move to the edge of the slope. A When entering a trail or starting downhill, give way to other skiers. A Obey all ski area signs and never ski on closed slopes. In cases of accidents the Ski Patrol is well equipped, with expertise and medical facilities. Specialist equipment includes splints, traction, backboards, oxygen sets, and scoop stretchers.along with various ropes for getting to difficult terrain, and avalanche rescue packs. There is always a doctor and a nurse on duty at the Ski Patrol's Clinic, and those whose injuries are treated are asked to give a $10 donation for the service. Ski Patrollers are welltrained, needing the prerequisites of the NZ Ski Patrol Association's ski test, and the National Ambulance Officer's Training School's 5-day pre-hospital emergency care course. It is a difficult area to find employ-

ment in with only 60 to 80 professional patrollers in New Zealand. Currently at Turoa there are 12 patrollers including the director, two of whom are female. They each work a five day roster with two days off midweek, and generally work nine hours per day. The ski patrol is able to respond to an accident within 2 to 3 minutes. Depending on the injury it can take between 5 and 40 minutes to get a patient to the clinic, where they can stabilized. The most frequently occurring injuries amongst skiers are knee and thumb injuries, while the wrist to shoulder are the danger zones for snowboarders. The Ski Patrol recommends the use of snowboarding gloves as an easy way of minimising this sort of injury. At times the proportion of snowboarding injuries can rise to as high as 50%, Alistair said. To make the best use of statistics a national register has been set up to record all reported snow accidents. Every person that visits the Turoa clinic must fill out a form which indicates such things as, where on the body the injury was sustained, in what conditions, during which activity, and how the equipment performed.

Through this information preventative measures can be employed to minimise accidents and injuries on skifields throughout New Zealand.'