In a newly created partnership, National Ski Patrol (NSP), The Cody St. John Foundation and Responder Alliance have launched a mental health initiative focused on stress awareness and resilience training for professional ski patrollers.
Aiming to equip patrollers with the tools and training to manage stress, enhance patrol team wellbeing and build resilience, NSP has taken the lead in guiding the program. The Cody St. John Foundation is funding 10 scholarships for the 2025-26 season and Responder Alliance is delivering the coursework and facilitating training sessions.
“Ski patrollers are the backbone of mountain safety, often the first on scene in high-stress and high-stakes situations,” said Stephanie Cox, CEO of NSP. “By supporting their resilience, we’re also supporting the safety culture that defines our mountains. This new partnership helps our patrollers with skills and training that strengthen them mentally, emotionally and as teams.”
Historically, the industry has underinvested in mental resilience, says Cox. “Our patrollers are highly trained in medical and toboggan training, but there was very little structured training available in managing chronic stress in traumatic instances. “We recognized that this culminative emotional load needed to be addressed, so we went looking for a partner that had deep expertise in stress injury prevention, which is Responder Alliance, and also Cody St. John Foundation, which has been really important in supporting patroller education.”
Responder Alliance’s training program focuses on stress awareness, team-based communication and evidence-based resilience strategies, and is tailored for first responders in outdoor and emergency environments. The program aligns with international standards for stress mitigation and first responder health.
“It’s powerful to see industry-leading organizations come together to support grassroots initiatives for patrols of all sizes, across the country,” said Griffin Lawrence, director, Responder Alliance. “This new partnership brings our organizations into alignment around new industry standards, including stress mitigation training as part of risk management. Between our three organizations, I think we’ve found a system where we can bring resources where they are needed and where funding is lacking. Investments like this result in longer careers, safer workplaces, improved guest experiences and increased career satisfaction.”
The Responder Alliance program focuses on preventing stress injury, a term that Lawrence says may be new language to some people. “Stress injury as a physical, predictable injury type is a language that is used in contexts like the military because it’s a bit more accurate descriptor than vaguely talking about mental health,” said Lawrence.
“It recognizes that stress is an occupational hazard and has the potential to lead to measurable physical injuries. Because this was previously an unnamed risk, people didn’t understand what was happening to them. Naming the risk and providing a science-based risk management protocol, including training and tools, is filling that gap for the first responders.”
Ski patrollers can be exposed to potentially traumatic events, such as someone dying on a mountain or assisting someone who is seriously injured. “Stress resilience are science-based best practices that first responders can use to recognize and communicate when they are being impacted by stress, and what to do about it so they can recover from it,” said Lawrence.
“The training for this initiative is all specific to ski patrol environments. There are factors that are unique to the ski patrol environment, as well as mountain rescue and other groups that operate in those environments. They can have unique impacts, some of which can cause patrollers to even lose their love for what they do. Training can help with that.”
With the involvement of The Cody St. John Foundation, this partnership honors the legacy of Cody St. John, a ski patroller who died in a car accident and is remembered for his professionalism, leadership and compassion. “Cody joined the ski patrol because he was called to serve others, including his fellow patrollers,” said Corinne St. John, president of The Cody St. John Foundation.
“Everything we do is a reflection of Cody’s spirit. Through this partnership, we’re carrying that same spirit forward, honoring his legacy, while collaborating with two incredible leaders within the industry. Both the NSP and the Responder Alliance are natural allies for our foundation, given the work we all do. While our missions differ in focus, the shared core of all three organizations is supporting ski patrollers and first responders.”
Mental health has become an increasingly hot topic within the ski industry, says Corinne, noting that the foundation is evolving with the times. “For nearly two decades, we’ve focused on helping patrollers strengthen their medical skills,” said Corinne. “Now, we’re equally proud to support their resilience training. While our primary mission will always be to support medical training, we believe there is no better way to care for ski patrollers than by also investing in their resilience. These are skills they can carry with them not only on the mountain, but in their daily lives and long after their time on ski patrol.”
Alterra Mountain Company recently announced a commitment to stress and trauma training for its patrol teams, also partnering with Responder Alliance. “Alterra has been a powerful example of industry leadership, recently committing to resilience programs at their resorts and supporting the wellbeing of their first responders,” said Corinne.
There is an emerging industry awareness about stress resilience, says Cox. “It is now a topic of conversation at conventions and conferences, and I really think the industry deserves kudos for recognizing the need and doing something about it.”
When The Cody St. John Foundation invited ski patrol groups to apply for the 10 scholarships that are being awarded as part of this initiative, Corinne says the response was overwhelmingly positive. “More than 30 groups applied, each at different stages of building their own resilience programs,” she said. “We are hoping that through this partnership, we will see greater awareness and broader acceptance of resilience training across the ski industry. We’re proud to help launch this initiative by providing the financial support needed to get it off the ground.”
Ski patrol teams who are not directly participating in this initial program, but are interested in resilience training are encouraged to reach out for further information. “They can go to responderalliance.com and join in our free online community where we host monthly drop-in ski patrol meetings,” said Lawrence. “We are happy to meet with any patrol teams and help them come up with next steps that will work for their budget.”
This is a pilot program with all three organizations hoping to continue and expand it in the future. “This partnership is the first of its kind,” said Cox. “Our hope is that after we go through this first season with these 10 patrol teams that we will continue to offer it annually and also expand it. We hope this will give patrollers the language and tools that make teams more operationally ready and more resilient, and that we see healthier teams with fewer sick days and less turnover from burnout.”
Patrol directors can contact NSP for more details on the resources available, including a Safety Culture for All handbook.
