Patrol/Information/Policies/Closing

From SPVSP

Hill closing involves the following tasks, which are assigned by the Hill Captain for each hill:

• Pick up bamboo and banner guard
  • Dodge Ridge chair banner guard and bamboo always gets put away
  • Other bamboo and banner guard may or may not be put away at the nearest chairlift tower depending on grooming requirements
• Remove Easiest Way Down signs
• Ski all runs to ensure all public is off the hill

Closing time is always announced over the radio by the base. After the announcement, the patrollers who are doing last rider on each chair get on. Lift operators are not permitted to allow public to ride any chairlift after the last rider gets on. The last riders call their chair number in to their Hill Captain along with the chair number the last public is riding.

Once the last riders have arrived at the top of the chairlift, the chair operator gets on the chairlift and rides down to the base. A patroller must remain at the top of each moving chair to ensure that nobody gets onto the moving chair. Once the lift operator arrives at the bottom of the hill, the patroller at the top communicates via telephone in the lift booth with the chair operator at the bottom of the chair to stop the chairlift. The chairlift should be stopped in such a position that the groomers have the most access to the unloading ramp as possible.

After the last public departs the top of the hill, patrollers ski their assigned runs, pausing periodically to call out and see if there is any public left on the hill. The hill captain or a delegated patroller waits at the top of each chair until all patrollers skiing down reach a predetermined point about 2/3rds of the way down the hill. This is done so that if any patroller locates an injured patient while closing, there is a patroller at the top of the hill who can bring down a toboggan if necessary.

After skiing down the runs, patrollers on the Wild Side hill meet at the top of the Little Thunder chairlift and wait for the hill captain to descend. Patrollers on the Pacific Crest hill wait at various points along the Marine Road to wait for the hill captain to descend. The hill captains lock up the bump shacks and descend to the meeting points. Once all patrollers on each hill at at the meeting point, everyone heads into the patrol building and the area is closed. At this point, base typically notifies maintenance, who turns out the lights.