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Upcoming Events – 2025
FEb 15 – CalTopo backcountry mapping/navigation review 11:00 AM at the Laurel Summit Nordic Ski patrol hut.
Feb 2 – Nordic skiing skills review including downhill and uphill skills… kick and glide, snowplow, pole drag, side step, side slip, herringbone, skate and classical techniques, telemark turns, kick turns, AVA turns, wedge turns, parallel turns and various drills in varying conditions.
April 26 – Laurel Summit Nordic Ski Patrol is proud to announce that we are celebrating 50 years of ski patrolling service this year. The patrol has covered the Laurel Mountain/Laurel Summit region in the Forbes State Forest for the past 50 winters. We’ll be celebrating at the warming hut on Laurel Summit Road on Saturday afternoon April 26, 2025. If you’re in the Laurel Mountain area, stop by and meet the crew. Cheers to the next 50 years!
April 27 – The NSP in person portion of the Instructor Development course will be held at Boyce Park. Registration is through the NSP Center for Learning website. Class size will be limited to 15 students, so don’t delay in signing up.
Sept 12 – 14 – Enhanced Patroller School at Swain Mountain in the Finger Lakes region of NY. This very concentrated weekend will focus on the core areas of OEC skills, Low Angle Rope Rescue, and Chair Evac. We will work on skills throughout the weekend and apply them to an MCI drill on Sunday rescuing a number of injured persons. The program will be fully moulaged for the realism, to aid us as patrollers down the road and may include other realistic sound and visual effects.
Upcoming Events – 2024
July 20-21 – Ropes and low angle rescue class at Shafer Run warming hut. Sign up on www.nsp.org
Sept 14-15 – AMN (Avalanche Mountain Travel Rescue and Nordic Instructor Refresher) at Spring Mountain , PA. If you are interested in becoming an instructor, please come. You do not have to be an instructor to attend. You will learn a ton of info and skills from top experts and it’s a fun time.
Oct 19 – Laurel Highlands/Laurel Summit Nordic Backcountry Refresher Cycle B skills session at Laurel Summit Nordic Ski patrol hut. Sign up on www.nsp.org Patrollers from other areas are welcome.
Nov 9-10 – MTR 1 (Mountain Travel and Rescue Level 1) This course provides hands-on practice in wilderness navigation, mountain travel, and survival, including emergency shelters, the Incident Command System, and SAR. It includes a mandatory overnight field session. Mountain Hosts are welcome.
Nov 23 – CPR (training and 2 year certification), 9:00 AM – 12 Noon at Laurel Summit Nordic ski patrol warming hut. Cost is $10, cash only at the the door. RSVP Sue Lee
OEC Cycle B Refreshers: Sign up on nsp.org
Sept 29 — Boyce Park
Sept 22 — Wisp
Oct 06 — Blued Knob
Oct 12 — Hidden Valley
Nov 24 — Ski Sawmill (last chance to meet requirements for the coming season)
Monthly Eastern Division Stress Awareness Zoom Forums–Want to learn more about stress awareness and patroller wellness? The Patroller Stress Awareness Team (PSAT) is hosting monthly Zoom forums to promote stress injury education. These forums are free, offered to all NSP members and friends on and off the mountain and all those involved in emergency care.
Join at 7:00 PM on the second Wednesday of each month.
Contact Sue Lee for link and meeting ID
Low Angle Rescue Clinic – 2024
Saturday July 20th – 8:30 – 5:00 PM
Open to patrollers, patrol candidates and mountain hosts. We will be practicing basic knots, setting up anchors, lowering systems, hauling systems and improvised single person rescue using the contents of your pack.
Location: Shaefer Run Warming Hut (Northwoods, Forbes State Forest, map will be sent after registration). To enroll, please go to nsp.org learning center and search for “Laurel Summit” and select enroll for the “Mountain Travel and Rescue Clinic”. For any questions, please reach out to David Everett.
Cost: $10
We anticipate that this class will fill up fast so sign up ASAP.
OEC Refresher Review – 2023
Saturday August 26th
The Outdoor Emergency Care Refresher review will be held at the Laurel Summit warming hut from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Saturday August 26. Patrollers and Mountain Hosts are strongly encouraged to attend to practice for the upcoming OEC refresher certification and polish your skills for the coming season.
Land Navigation Workshop – 2023
Saturday July 8th – 9:00 – 3:00 PM
Location: Laurel Summit Warming Hut, 1120 Laurel Summit Road, Boswell, PA. Join us for a day of fun and learn the skill of Navigation using a map and compass. A little bit of lecture and lots of hands-on practice in the field. Registration is limited to 20 people. Those under age 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Cost: $15
For information and to register, email: laurelsummitnordic@gmail.com
Last day to register June 30, 2023.