The National Ski Patrol (NSP) and Snow Angel Foundation have officially joined forces in a partnership aimed at amplifying safety messaging on the slopes and preventing collisions. The collaboration unites NSP’s 85-year legacy in on-mountain safety with the Snow Angel Foundation’s advocacy, born from personal tragedy.
Snow Angel Foundation was founded in 2023 by Chauncy and Kelli Johnson after a devastating collision on Christmas Eve 2010 claimed the life of their five-year-old daughter, Elise, and left Kelli with lasting injuries, including a traumatic brain injury. Determined to prevent other families from experiencing similar loss Chauncy and Kelli launched campaigns, such as Ride Another Day, before establishing the foundation to focus on education and awareness around safe skiing and snowboarding.
“We serve over 540 areas. We have over 620 patrols. We see things every day that we wish we could’ve prevented.”
Stephanie Cox, National Ski Patrol
Stephanie Cox, CEO of the NSP, says after bumping into each other several times, she suggested NSP and the foundation join forces. “I just said ‘We need to join up.’ We need to do something big because I know that it’s really hard to start a foundation. It’s really hard to spread the word, even though you know it’s so utterly compelling … so we formed an official partnership this past season.”
Cox says that NSP’s motivation is not about filling a gap, but strengthening existing efforts. “We can amplify the messaging. Our message and mission aligns with their mission and messaging. It was just a no-brainer,” she said. “Anytime we have an opportunity to talk more about safety or collision prevention, we certainly want to do that. We serve over 540 areas. We have over 620 patrols. We see things every day that we wish we could’ve prevented.”
Engaging patrollers and youth
The partnership’s priority is to bring Snow Angel’s message to NSP’s 32,000 members. According to Cox, they are doing that through their monthly online forums, as well as promoting the messaging every year. “Every patroller has to take a refresher … and so when patrollers go to those refreshers, we decided [to] put this messaging in front of [them] as well,” Cox said. “Patrollers are kind of looked up upon and mentors to the younger population.”
Cox says that NSP’s athlete ambassadors will also play a role. “We have seven NSP athletes who are not only patrollers, but they compete in mountain biking professional events or skiing and snowboarding professional events, and these athletes are also now going to help get the word out about collision prevention and skiing and riding safety.”
Beyond training, Cox says there are cultural challenges in skiing today, particularly with young people who feel skillful to take on challenging terrain. “They’re skiing at faster speeds and collisions are going to be worse if you ski at a faster speed,” she said. “We don’t want the patroller to always just be the bad guys and girls that, take you to task. We’d rather spend the time on the front side of things, on the front part of the messaging.”
Honoring the story
Cox was careful to acknowledge where the heart of the story lies, commending Chauncy and Kelli for the way they tell their story and are using their experience to increase safety on the slopes. “They do a beautiful job at telling that story. I think where our role comes in is to say we’re here for them and we’re here for the entire community to help spread that word,” she said.
Chauncy says their partnership with NSP will help them reach a wider audience and amplify their message of safety. “Our mission at Snow Angel Foundation is to transform our pain into positive action…. We believe that by working together, we can help prevent future tragedies so that everyone can enjoy the mountains safely.”
Looking ahead
Cox says the partnership’s success will come when there are more people taking part on the dialogue and there’s an increased awareness about safety within the skiing and riding public. “If somebody’s out at a ski area and they start to ski a little bit beyond their limits, maybe they think about that story and they slow down,” she said.
For NSP and Snow Angel Foundation, the measure of impact won’t only be campaigns or modules completed, but whether responsibility and prevention become part of everyday ski culture.
For more information, go to snowangelfoundation.org or nsp.org.
