Deep, resounding thuds echo up the valley as dawn breaks over the Mont Blanc massif. It’s the sound of controlled avalanche detonations; an unmistakable signal that ski patrol is at work, long before the first lifts hum to life.
On Mont Blanc, as elsewhere in the world, ski patrollers are the first on the mountain and the last to leave. Their work goes far beyond responding to injuries; they’re responsible for avalanche mitigation, weather monitoring, slope maintenance and educating skiers about mountain safety. In resorts like Chamonix, where considerable off-piste terrain adds to the challenge, their expertise can be the difference between a holiday thrill and a life-threatening situation.
To celebrate today’s International Ski Patrol Day – an initiative supported by Helly Hansen, a longstanding partner of ski professionals – I am shadowing Mehdi Valentin, one of Chamonix’s senior ski patrollers. At 35, he is the head of pistes at Balme Le Tour, with 10 years of experience.
Ski patrol’s work begins in near darkness. Mehdi and I set off on the opening sweep of Le Tour, skiing from top to bottom. The freshly groomed pistes stretch ahead, their pristine condition a result of a nightly operation involving around 30 snowcats working across the entire valley.
The mountain is eerily calm. Lifts remain motionless overhead, and the absence of skiers makes the landscape feel vast. But behind the sense of remoteness lies a precisely orchestrated safety system. Mehdi pulls up near a piste marker and asks: “Do you know what the orange colour on top of these poles is for?” Despite years of skiing, I admit to having no idea. The orange blaze, he explains, serves as a crucial navigational aid, appearing only atop poles on the right-hand side of the slope. Later that day, in whiteout conditions, I learn how invaluable such innocuous details can be. The morning checks completed, Mehdi radios to his colleagues that Le Tour ski area is ready to be opened.
Back in the warmth of Charamillon gondola station, Mehdi explains the rigorous training required in France. “You need a five-week diploma to join [ski patrol]. Then you specialise – avalanche control, weather observation or avalanche dogs.” It doesn’t stop there; advancing through each of the three ranks of ski patrol demands at least two years of on-the-job experience between each step.
As the day takes shape, Mehdi’s radio crackles into life: a skier has taken a hard fall on a blue run. Surprisingly, most ski accidents don’t happen on steep, black-rated slopes but rather on intermediate blues. Says Mehdi: “They’re busier, more familiar and less technical, so people let their guard down.
The 14-person patrol team at Balme Le Tour responds to around eight incidents per day; over a season, they handle about 300 rescues. Knee injuries account for the majority of hospitalisations – around 75 per cent – followed by shoulder issues and, less frequently, head or neck trauma. “Most knee injuries happen when skis cross – especially in soft snow,” says Mehdi.
For serious injuries, patrollers use vacuum splints to immobilise limbs before transporting skiers down the mountain in the “blood wagon”, or rescue sled. Hypothermia is always a concern, so patients are wrapped in insulating blankets for the descent. This season, the team has also introduced penthrox, an inhalable painkiller that Mehdi describes as a “game-changer”.
Avalanches pose the gravest risk. Chamonix’s vast off-piste terrain attracts thrill-seekers, but venturing beyond marked runs without proper gear or knowledge can be deadly. Last month, a 55-year-old skier was killed in a massive avalanche in a closed area of the Grands Montets resort; four more skiers lost their lives in a second avalanche not far away.
Survival rates plummet after 15 minutes of burial, but these days patrollers use cutting-edge technology like RECCO reflectors – passive transponders commonly embedded into high-end ski clothing – to locate buried skiers quickly. “Last year, we saved a skier within minutes thanks to RECCO,” Mehdi says.
Despite the technological advances, however, avalanche dogs remain an essential part of the rescue arsenal. I watch as Utah, a 10-month-old golden retriever in training, bounds through the snow during a mock search exercise. A trained dog can search 100sq m in minutes, far faster than human rescuers.
The mountains are changing. Warmer winters mean ski patrollers now spend some of their time de-icing lifts – something rarely required in the past. But the equipment has also evolved to make people safer: most skiers now wear helmets, and many off-piste adventurers carry airbag backpacks and transceivers. The added protection, however, can give skiers a confidence that belies their skills. “People ski faster now, chasing records on their smartwatches,” Mehdi says. “They have a false sense of security, and it leads to bigger crashes” – often resulting in more complicated injuries.
As the domed peak of Mont Blanc glints in the last of the sun, Mehdi and I embark on the final sweep. It’s a slow, deliberate descent, ensuring no one has been left on the slopes before the snowcats begin their nightly ploughing. Spending a day in their world offers a newfound appreciation for the ski patrol. Millions of skiers carve their way down these legendary slopes, never realising how much effort goes into their protection. So next time you hear the distant boom of avalanche control at dawn, take a moment to appreciate these guardians of the mountains.
Fergus Scholes travelled as a guest of Helly Hansen