[caya.s.johnson]

Hi all,

I just started a training plan which I put together for myself after reading Training for the New Alpinism, and was wondering if there are any other ski patrollers out there who have tips or thoughts on how to log the work of patrolling into their training plan. In any given day I will potentially spend time slogging through deep snow while carrying loads of stuff, sprint skating up hills, skiing loads of vert, sidestepping endlessly, dragging a sled with a 200 lb person through the flats, or sitting on my ass for hours. Basically an 8-10 hour chaotic mix of rest, zone 1, 2, 3, strength, max strength, and strength endurance. I’ve been doing my best to guesstimate and categorize, but wondering if there is anyone out there with tips/ideas.

I would also welcome any ideas on how to avoid falling into the high intensity/overtraining trap while working in ski patrol or other first responder jobs – especially in the middle of the season, I often feel like I am either in Zone 2/Zone 3 or sitting completely still at work, and am then too tired to actually do any training in Zone 1 (or anything at all…). Would love any ideas yall have.

Thanks,

Caya

Topic

[Luke Nelson]

Luke Nelson on December 20, 2019 at 10:00 pm #34756

Caya you are asking a great question. Working as a ski patroller can be very physically demanding. I don’t patrol full time but do patrol 2-3 days a week during the season. Figuring out how to train for objectives beyond patrolling takes a lot of thought, planning and willingness to throw the plan out the window if you are too tired to hit the other parts of your training plan. What I do is to try to balance my week so that I am doing easier aerobic training on the days I patrol and have ample time between those days and intensity or interval training. The toll of patrolling needs to be accounted for, and often it will be almost all zone 1 work. If you are unsure wear a HR strap and monitor your output for a few days of patrolling to get an idea. Perhaps the most important piece of advice would be to be honest with how tired you are, or aren’t, when deciding whether to train in addition to your work day. If you can plan a week based off weather forecasts or anticipated high/low customer days you can sketch out a rough plan. Be thoughtful. Be flexible. I’m happy to get more specific if you have questions about your training.