SUSSEX, Wis. — One of the largest winter rescue organizations in the world is conducting specialized training in the Milwaukee area this weekend, preparing volunteers for potentially life-saving scenarios.
Volunteers with the National Ski Patrol converge at Ausblick Ski Club in Sussex to practice some of the more high-risk rescues ahead of the ski season. For many volunteers, ski patrol becomes a lifelong commitment to public safety.
"I have been a volunteer for 30 years," said Julie Timmons, a volunteer ski patroller at Wilmount.
Watch: Volunteers train to keep you safe on area slopes this winter
"More than that. 1983," added Katie Voss, a volunteer ski patroller at Ausblick.
Mike Husar administration chair of the Central Division of the National Ski Patrol, has dedicated over five decades to the organization.
"I have been in it for 51 years," Husar said.
Despite the sunny, 60-degree weather, these dedicated volunteers gathered to prepare for the upcoming winter season. Their training reflects the wide range of emergencies they might encounter on the slopes.
"Everything from a band-aid to people who have to be airlifted out to a hospital," Timmons said.
Becoming a ski patrol volunteer requires extensive preparation, including EMT training and specialized ski rescue techniques. This weekend's advanced training focuses on worst-case scenarios that, while rare, require thorough preparation.
"We don't want to have to do a rope rescue, but we need to be trained and prepared for it to happen," Husar said.
The choice of Ausblick as a training location is strategic. Harken Safety and Rescue, a Pewaukee-based company that manufactures safety equipment used by ski patrol, is helping conduct the training sessions.
Despite the intensive preparation for emergencies, the volunteers hope their skills won't be needed.
"Our best day is to have nothing and to just be role models for safety on the hill," Timmons said.
"That is our ideals," Voss added.
The training continues throughout the weekend, with the ski patrol heading to Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, where they'll practice searching for avalanche transponders.
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