America’s First Organized Ski Patrol was in the Adirondacks.

Did you know that the first organized ski patrol in America was formed at Gore Mt. in North Creek?

Lois Perret Schaefer, a registered nurse and head of the First Aid Committee of the Schenectady Wintersports Club (SWC), established the first recognizable ski patrol in America at what was then Gore Mountain (today we know it as the North Creek Ski Bowl). This all-volunteer first aid squad armed themselves with a bevy of medical kits, a legit doctor, toboggans and emergency planning. Their motto: “Be careful, and think while you ski.” Wise words, indeed.

The preparations for the ski patrol began during the summer and fall of 1933. They included recruiting competent skiers, training by the Red Cross on emergency care of injuries, preparation of first aid kits with splints, wraps, bandages, ointments, and toboggans to transport hurt skiers as needed, arranging for an on-call physician to assist with serious injuries.

Most skiers arrived at North Creek via the ski train from Schenectady, N.Y., so the first aid station was set up in one of the Ski Train cars. The ski patrol placed toboggans to transport injured skiers strategically on North Creek’s ski trails. At the end of every ski day, Ms. Schaeffer and her ski patrol members, nicknamed the “Clean-Up Crew,” would “sweep the trails,” ensuring there were no injuries or slackers.

Unfortunately (but not unsurprisingly), many skiers overestimated their ability and underestimated trail length; the Clean-Up Crew would find themselves trying to ski in the dark to account for all skiers, despite the patrol warning skiers not to start down the trails after 3:30 pm. Often, trains departing North Creek were delayed until every skier was accounted for.

The SWC First Aid Patrol did not survive the decades, so it can't claim to be the longest-running. Nor did it have the extensive capabilities and training programs of patrols that followed in their tracks, but Lois Perret and her clean-up crew were undoubtedly pioneers. In 1938, when Charles Minot “Minnie” Dole agreed to organize what was to become the industry standard National Ski Patrol, he replicated many of Lois’s principles, including the Red Cross training and equipment protocols.

Speaking of Gore Mountain…

Learn more about the history of Gore Mountain, NY’s largest and oldest winter sports destination, featured on a recent episode of our podcast ADK Talks.

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