Are you ready to hit the slopes this winter? Are you sure?

Peter sat down with firefighter and ski patroller Brett Reed to talk about some of the need-to-know basics of preparing for ski season, and some of the most common mistakes that travelers make.

Peter Greenberg: In Mammoth Lakes, California, the fire department and ski patrol go hand in hand. When you have this kind of snowfall—in December you had 160 inches—that’s got to create huge challenges for the safety guys out there.

Brett Reed: Absolutely.

PG: And it creates huge challenges for fire safety.

BR: Correct. One of our biggest challenges are fire hydrants.

PG: Because they freeze.

BR: And they get buried in snow. It’s is kind of a collective effort between the department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. We get Cal Fire crews up here to help us dig out the hydrants, and we can actually get them cleared up pretty quick. We don’t actually get each and every one dug out, but we have targeted hydrants in specific areas that we try to get unburied so that we have access.

PG: I’m a fireman in New York, on an island where we have wood-frame houses, wind, and not great water pressure. Those are the three worst things you can have, right?

BR: Right.

PG: So a lot of times we have to strain out of the bay just because we don’t carry enough water in our trucks, and we certainly can’t depend on the pressure from the hydrants all of the time.  What are your challenges here? You’ve got a lot of wood-frame houses; you’re at altitude; you’ve got weather; and I guarantee you, you have wind.

BR: It’s our isolation. The nearest help is at June Lake and Crowley Lake. In the summer, when we get into our wildland fire season, if we get into a big conflagration our nearest help is between three and six hours from here.

Not too far away: Ask the Locals Guide: Lake Tahoe, CA

PG: When you’re not putting out fires you’re Mr. Ski Patrol.

BR: That’s correct.

PG: What is the most common thing that you see as a mistake waiting to happen?

BR: Honestly, the most common thing you see is people not getting acclimated to the altitude; not drinking enough water; not eating. They leave L.A. at 2 or 3 in the morning, get up here by 7 or 8 o’clock in the morning, and just jump right on the mountain.

PG: They haven’t eaten.

BR: And they haven’t had enough water. They’re going from sea level to 11,000 feet in a matter of hours and their bodies aren’t acclimated to the altitude. They get tired; they get run-down; and they’re just not ready for the conditions that they’re getting themselves into.

PG: It basically it gets down to common sense, doesn’t it? You have to hydrate yourself, and you also have to stretch!

Get more skiing tips in our Winter Sports section

BR: You have to stretch, and the another big one is nutrition. That goes along with the hydration. Being in good physical condition, and ready for the physical challenges that you’re going to get at 11,000 feet.

PG: And then, of course, being honest with yourself about your real level of ability.

BR: You are correct, Peter. People are not ready for the terrain that we have here at Mammoth. They’re not honest with themselves. They’re not listening to what their bodies are telling them. And by the end of the day we are picking people up who are just dead tired. They just literally cannot move anymore, or they are injuring themselves: twisting knees, twisting ankles, whatever it is.

PG: And you are forgetting one other aspect and that is called alcohol.

BR: That factors into it as well.

PG: There is something called SUI, or skiing under the influence.

BR: That will happen. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often, but we do see it.

PG: But, you know, we talk about hydration. You drink alcohol, that is going to dehydrate you. Are we dealing with a lot of drunk skiers?

BR: Not very often. It happens, but for the most part people are pretty well maintained. They will go out, have a couple of beers throughout the day, but rarely do you see the intoxicated skier who cannot make it down due to the alcohol.

PG: What do you carry with you?

BR: We carry first-aid gear for the most part.

PG: Are you guys all EMS?

BR: Yes. The vast majority of our patrollers are EMT-certified. But we do have some guys that are just to the Advanced First Aid levels. We have our own protocols as far as the EMS side of things go on the mountain.

Check out the guests from Peter’s radio show in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

PG: You talked about people coming from Southern California, or San Jose, or San Francisco, jumping in the car, driving five hours or longer. But in weather like this when you have, at one point 123 inches on the ground, they have to be safe in terms of their driving technique.

BR: People aren’t used to it. Like you said they’re coming from Los Angeles, San Jose, etc., and they may get in the snow two, three days out of the year. They’re just not used to that change in conditions. They don’t understand how their car is going to react. They’re not carrying chains. There are a lot of things that you see that just don’t make sense. So it goes back to what you said about the common sense.

PG: And of course, map and compass not a bad idea to know where you are. A little extra food to take with you on the slopes.

BR: Always. A couple Clif bars, Snickers bars, extra water.

PG: Then there’s wind. It’s not just wind chill, but we had that incident that happened in late December with the chair lift in Maine. With 40 knot winds, and that cable broke, right? Is there a wind velocity here beyond which you’re saying: We’re shutting it down?

BR: It doesn’t really deal with the velocity of the wind, but the direction of the wind. It depends on which direction the wind is coming from whether that particular lift is going to have a problem or not.

To listen to the interview, press the “Play” button on our homepage at PeterGreenberg.com. Or sign up to be an Insider at PeterGreenberg.com/Membership to listen to Peter’s radio show, any time and on demand. Photo credits: Mammoth Mountain.

Related links on PeterGreenberg.com:

• Guests from Peter’s radio show in Mammoth Lakes, CA
• Winter Sports section
• Travel Tip: Traveling With Ski Equipment
• Ask the Locals Guide: Lake Tahoe, CA
• Travel Safety & Security