Cable Cars Switzerland Offers Summer Patrolman Conversion Course For Winter Patrollers

Winter patrollers can now train to become summer patrollers in a three-day course; for the other candidates, the training lasts five days.

The training for patrol officers working in winter has been established for decades and is highly respected. The courses are well attended at all three training levels A, B and C.

With the increase in summer activities and their relevance for companies, Seilbahnen Schweiz designed a corresponding training course several years ago, the structure and content of which have been adapted for this year's event. Depending on the previous training, the training to become a summer patroller-A lasts three or five days:

• Participants who have already completed training as patrol officers A and B only need to attend the second part of the course, which lasts three days. The main topics in this part of the course are summer and work-related accidents as well as the duty to ensure road safety for summer activities.
• Participants without training as a winter patroller must attend both parts of the course. The focus of the first part of the course is on first aid and patient assessment, as well as cooperation with air rescue.
• At the end of the course, all candidates must take an exam.
• Benefits of training for everyday life

The first course with this new structure took place on Hasliberg from May 27-31, 2024 with seven participants. Michi Nellen, Managing Director of Bellwald Sportbahnen and course leader of the Central Course C, emphasizes the benefits of the training for everyday life in summer operations: "The participants are trained explicitly for use in summer. For example, there are significant differences in rescue techniques in winter and summer. A second very important topic is the traffic safety obligation, which the cable car companies must also fulfill in summer. The summer patrollers learn the basics of safe operation. In this way, they protect guests from accidents and at the same time the operators of bike trails from legal consequences in the event of incidents."

Michi Nellen has registered his employee for the course because safety is the top priority for the Bellwald Bike Park. In addition to the high quality standards on the routes, the Bellwald Sportbahnen also want to be ready to rescue fallen riders quickly and professionally. He considers the Central Course A - Summer to be important because the task of the rescue service is sometimes even more demanding in summer than in winter, so specific training for use in summer should definitely be provided.

Feedback from participants

• Yanik Hermanni, a newly qualified summer patroller at Bergbahnen Flumserberg AG, attended the Central Course A - Summer without any prior knowledge. At Flumserberg, he works in the rope park and on the mountain bike facilities in the summer and in the technology department in the winter. The reason for attending the course was clear: he wanted to acquire the necessary medical knowledge to be able to provide first aid in the event of accidents during summer activities.
• Another participant, Philipp Jost from Kaisereggbahnen Schwarzsee AG, already had experience as a winter patroller. From the 2024/25 winter season, he will take on the role of piste and rescue chief and will be responsible for leisure activities in the summer. The course gave him the opportunity to repeat the knowledge from the winter course and supplement it with information on summer activities. He also received valuable input on summer accidents and was able to exchange ideas intensively with the other participants.

Both participants emphasize the importance and benefits of training as a summer patrol officer A and highly recommend the course. The course is planned to be held again in 2026 at the latest.