Joe Menichino- Genesee Valley Region Certified Advisor
Oct 30, 2018
Let me start by apologizing for taking so long to write this report. I never realized how much time it takes to be retired! I recommend it. We have had ground covering snow here in Alfred twice this Fall. Our ski season is rapidly approaching. Best write this now before we start skiing or it will never get done!
The Eastern Division Annual Meeting and Exam was held in late March of 2018 at Killington. We had great weather and Killington was a terrific host mountain. The ski exam was very difficult on the steepest, longest mogul terrain ever (Outer Limits). Candidates really needed to be in good shape to pass that exam. First Aid went well with a series of basically mini MCI’s for the candidates to work thru. As usual the Moulage was amazing (Tom Wallin and Jeff Baker). This year is the 50th anniversary of the Certified program and a huge parry was held at the top of the mountain. Many low numbered retirees were in attendance as well as Certs from all the Divisions in the country. Riding up and down the gondola in the dark in dress clothes after the mountain closed with no lights was a beautiful experience. Glad it didn’t break!!
The membership voted in John Wilson from McCauley Mountain as our new Chairman. Our local Region Certified members are assigned the following program assignments as part of his staff:
OEC Chair- Baker
OEC First Assistant Chair- Menichino
Chair Evac Chair- Wallin
Life Time Status Committee- Nickerson
Our Region Certified members were active this Summer and Fall with a Certified Boot camp in Maine and an Advanced Patroller School at Blue Mountain Pa. Both programs were well attended (sold out I believe) and attendees were exposed to great food, great company and a wide array of challenging skill training programs ranging from High and Low angle rope work to full blown MCI’s with outside agencies responding. If you haven’t attended one of these yet I recommend you do.
Efforts are underway to harmonize all Certified requirements across the entire country, so all Divisions operate the same. This is a much more difficult process than you would think but we are succeeding! The effort will make the program better and more consistent. One change for this year is that Eastern Division Certified will start tail roping the toboggan exams for safety but not as an element to be examined.
If you are interested in starting the Certification process Applications need to be completed by February 1. Contact me ([email protected]) or any of our Region Certified Patrollers for help. Lots of info on the Division web page too.
The Certified Pre-Test schedule for 2018-2019 is:
Sugarloaf on January 25
Killington on February 1
The pretests will be run as they have been in the past meaning a shorted version of the actual exam using all components of the full exam. Let me know if you are interested in attending- please don’t just show up.
The 2018-2019 season Annual Meeting Exam will be held at Jay Peak in Vermont on March 22 thru March 24. All are welcome but there is now a small fee and I need a commitment and RSVP from interested members by Feb 1 to be sure to get you in. We just don’t get as many comps as we used too!
As always, if you have any questions regarding the program and Certification please do not hesitate to call me or contact any of the Region Certified members. There are many patrollers in our region that have all the right stuff to succeed in the program. Success and value are achieved by simply becoming a candidate.
Have a safe and fun ski season. Let’s hope it lasts as long as last year!!
Joe Menichino
Genesee Valley Region Certified Advisor