Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold areas during winter, but artificial snow and artificial ice allow more flexibility. Playing areas and fields consist of either snow or ice.
Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with technical rope access issues, snow, avalanches, ice, crevasses, glaciers, alpine environments and high altitudes. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain in which mountain rescue often occurs has resulted in the development of a number of specific pieces of equipment and techniques. Helicopters are often used to quickly extract casualties, and search dogs may be deployed to find a casualty.
Ski mountaineering is a skiing discipline that involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness of the ascent, and then descending on skis. There are two major categories of equipment used, free-heel Telemark skis and skis based on Alpine skis, where the heel is free for ascents, but is fixed during descent. The discipline may be practiced recreationally or as a competitive sport.
Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC) provided by the National Ski Patrol (USA), that are specific to the winter-season environment and providing emergency medical services in remote locations. Many patrollers also hold EMS issued credentials, such as emergency medical technician or any other pre-hospital care certification. Due to the remote location and terrain, transportation is often limited to ski toboggan, snowmobile, or, for life-compromising injuries or extremely remote terrain, helicopter rescue. Depending on the ski area terrain, ski patrollers can be versed in a large variety of specialized rescues, such as avalanche search and rescue, outdoor emergency transportation, chairlift evacuation, and, in some cases, helicopter rescue techniques are taught. Patrols work to promote ski safety, enforce area policies, and help the injured within their jurisdiction. Ski patrollers also work to set up the mountain before it opens by conducting trail checks, providing avalanche control work, and setting up necessary equipment in preparation for the day. At the end of the day, they also conduct a sweep clearing the mountain for off-hours.
Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the use of a ski lift or transport.
Backcountry skiing (US), also called off-piste (Europe), alpine touring, or out-of-area, is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside a ski resort's boundaries. This contrasts with alpine skiing, which is typically done on groomed trails benefiting from a ski patrol. Unlike ski touring, backcountry skiing can include the use of ski lifts including snowcats and helicopters. Recent improvements in equipment have increased the popularity of the sport.
Outdoor emergency care (OEC) was first developed by the National Ski Patrol in the 1980s for certification in first aid, and other pre-hospital care and treatment for possible injuries in non-urban settings. Outdoor emergency care technicians provide care at ski resorts, wilderness settings, white-water excursions, mountain bike events, and in many other outdoor environments.
The Canadian Ski Patrol is a national, non-profit, registered charitable organization that is volunteer-based and provides advanced first aid and emergency response services at more than 230 ski resorts and nordic centres, as well as hundreds of recreational and sporting events across Canada. The Canadian Ski Patrol (CSP) has more than 4,500 registered members consisting of alpine and nordic skiers, snowboarders, and non-skiers/boarders, making it the largest volunteer-based certified first responder organization in Canada. Members of the CSP are involved in accident prevention and intervention, managerial activities, and patroller and public education.
Roger Langley was a president of the National Skier Association of America and a driving force behind the founding of the National Ski Patrol.
The Mountain Education Centre of New Zealand (MECNZ) was formally a division of Tai Poutini Polytechnic, located in Wanaka, New Zealand. Tai Poutini Polytechnic continues to run the Ski Patrol Programme from its Wanaka Campus.
Wilderness medicine is defined by difficult patient access, limited equipment, and environmental extremes. Today, wilderness or expedition medicine is practiced by Wilderness First Responders, Wilderness EMTs, Remote/Offshore/Wilderness Paramedics and Physicians on expeditions, in outdoor education, search and rescue, mountain rescue, remote area operations including research, exploration, and offshore oil platforms, as well as tactical environments. In mainland Europe, where mountain rescue is done by paid professionals, there are courses for physicians that help qualify them to be mountain rescue or expedition doctors. Many of these courses lead to an International Diploma in Mountain Medicine, which is recognized by the Union Internationale des Associations Alpinistes.
Explorer Search and Rescue (ESAR) are teams of Explorers in the Learning for Life program of the Boy Scouts of America who are trained and deployed for search and rescue missions. Well-developed ESAR programs emerged in the state of Washington in the mid-1950s and were followed by others in California and elsewhere. The rugged, mountainous terrain of these areas often require massive amounts of manpower for proper searches for missing people, not to mention their rescue and evacuation from remote areas. The ESAR mission has also expanded over the years to include urban search and rescue and other disaster-related disciplines. Many ESAR groups also provide wilderness safety training to the public.
Backcountry snowboarding is snowboarding in a sparsely inhabited rural region over ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes in the backcountry, frequently amongst trees, usually in pursuit of fresh fallen snow, known as powder. Often, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. Fixed mechanical means of ascent such as ski lifts are typically not present, but alternative means such as splitboarding, hiking, snow shoeing and helicopters ("heliskiing") are sometimes used to reach the mountain's peak.
Avalanche rescue involves locating and retrieving people who have been buried in avalanches.
In the United States, mountain rescue is handled by professional teams within some national parks and by volunteer teams elsewhere. Volunteer teams are often members of the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA).
Portland Mountain Rescue is a search and rescue organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. It specializes in high angle mountain rescue and mountain rescue in northwest Oregon and southwest Washington, as well as providing educational materials and information on mountain and backcountry safety. Secondary areas of operations include Central Oregon and western Washington. The organization is 100% volunteer and has about 65 field-deployable members.
A wilderness medical emergency is a medical emergency that takes place in a wilderness or remote setting affinitive care. Such an emergency can require specialized skills, treatment techniques, and knowledge in order to manage the patient for an extended period of time before and during evacuation.
A rescue toboggan, also known as a rescue sled or emergency rescue sledge, or by the Finnish word ahkio, is a carrier for transporting a person or goods on snowy or icy surfaces. It is used by mountain rescue or ski patrol teams to evacuate an injured skier or snowboarder. There are related designs for use on water to carry accident victims or emergency equipment.
Roland Palmedo was a pioneering developer of recreational skiing in the United States. He founded the Mount Mansfield Lift Company which built Stowe's first chairlift, and created the Mad River Glen ski area. Roland Palmedo was also instrumental in the establishment of the National Ski Patrol and the first women's U.S. Olympic ski team. As founding president of the Amateur Ski Club of New York, Palmedo promoted skiing as an outdoor adventure for families and competitive racers alike.
This glossary of skiing and snowboarding terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon used in skiing, snowboarding, and related winter sports.
