What do you do with gear when responding to a call?

Cross post from a little venting over at TGR:

[rant-blog]

I was patrolling last night, and we had a call for an injured 4-year-old kid at about 9:40 pm - kinda the witching hour for us, about 20 minutes before closing.

I was standing by at the toboggan shack, when the call came across to bring it down, and I could hear the kid SOBBING - he was hurting and scared. I pulled the sled out, put my poles under the shelter, and zipped down to the scene. We loaded him & his dad, and got them down to the patrol room - about 10 minutes total from the time I grabbed the sled until I got back up to the sled shelter.

My f'in poles got swiped!!!    There was a group of teen snowboarders I had to pick through with the toboggan, and they all had plenty to say as I came by with it - "Come on, man, I never got to ride in one..." - you know, really "witty" stuff like that. I just went through them and politely aksed them to make way so I could get to the kid. I have a feeling that they probably had a pretty good idea where the poles went, and they were nowhere to be found when I got back up there, just like my poles.  Can't prove they took them, but they were the only ones there at the time, and they were just "hanging out".  I know sometimes 2+2 = 5, but the coincidence factor is pretty hard to refute. 

I can afford new poles - no big deal, but I shouldn't HAVE TO. These were some Leki adjustable poles I use for alpine & telemark, since my stance varies between the two styles, and adjustable poles are the way to go. They aren't cheap, but they don't look like anything special.

There's gotta be a special Karmic payback for assholes that do stuff like this, especially when I'm on the way to help someone. WTF is with people?

So...what do you guys do with gear you aren't supposed to ski with when you respond to an incident?  At the end of the day, the injured party is much more important than a set of poles, but GEEZ!!!  I'm thinking maybe a pack I can tuck them into and take them with?  It just sucks that there are a-holes like this out there.

[/rant-blog]

 

We strap them into the toboggan next to the patient.

under the staps is one method, I usually leave them IN the tobaggon shelter  out of sight

I throw them in the sled.   At the scene , I take them out.  If I am bring the sled down, another patroller will carry them down with the other equipment.

Either leave them by the shack like you did or throw them in the sled.  But I use old beater poles for work.  A lot of the people I work with use poles from the rental shop, which would eliminate the pain of a situation like yours.  I save the good poles for free skiing.  

Thread drift "r" us:
The other day I was chillin' at our top shack when some spring breakers rolled off the lift and started in on their shenanigans - mainly putting on Mexican wrestler masks and brightly colored boxers over their ski clothes, then skiing off screaming unintelligibly.  Amusing and all, but when I went out to go ski one of them had grabbed my ski poles. This actually wasn't as bad as it might seem - the guy grabbed my old crooked mis-matched beater poles and left his rather nice Leki carbon poles right next to my skis.  Of course I gloated over this to other patrollers, so one of them made it a point to track down the guy and told him that he'd made a dumb-ass switch.  They found me via radio and I had to trade him back.  

Looks like I'll stop at Play-It-Again sports for some cheapos...  Not a bad idea though - Sometimes we have to use poles to support a toboggan on icy stuff, and I always cringe when they grab mine.  Maybe I'll grab some of those lower cost Goode poles off the NSP site.  I think they're about $30.

I strap poles in 'boggan just in case they are needed at scene (secure toboggan). If no room in sled then will have other patroller carry down hill. I would rather have them available at the scene for the 'just in case' event. Mine are spendy too (Leki's). Yup, I should get some cheapo's just in case.

Take a good look around up there by the toboggan shack.  They may have just thrown them in the woods or something like that.  It takes a lot more balls to steal a patrol's poles, ride a snowboard down the hill with them trying to look inconspicuous, then take them past the lodges to a vehicle.  It would be pretty easy for the kids to just throw them somewhere nearby .. Jerks!  karma will be when they get hurt and you're not there because you are off buying nice new poles.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skier_j 

 

 I usually leave them IN the tobaggon shelter  out of sight

+1 

When I have poles with me, I usually put them where I took the sled from.  On days when I anticipate doing a lot of work on shift (e.g., early season, after a major storm, big race days), I don't even ski with poles because I'm more likely to lose 'em than use 'em.

Usually, when we arrive at the condo (toboggan storage area) we always arrive with someone else, so one guy takes the toboggan while the other guy takes the poles.  If not, the poles get strapped into the toboggan.  If we are at the accident site, one or two people clean up the area, taking down all poles, bags, client's equipment, whatever.  

It all sounds efficient, but I have lost a pair of good gloves on a case and another patroller at our little hill had his skis swiped.  However, if equipment is stolen, management "encourages"  the ski shop to give us a really reduced rate to replace them.  But then again, we are volunteers, if they want to keep us around, we have to have skis.

As for my gloves, I went to the hospital after my shift to see if one of my clients had them.  Sure enough, I got them back.

My ski poles used while patrolling are 35 years old.  I got alot of memories in those ski poles.  I throw them next to the toboggan catch on the ground.  No big deal if they get stollen.  They have very unique scrapes and replacement baskets.   Of course if I ever find someone using them days or years later anywehere on the east coast, they would be in serious big trouble.      Lets just say you would not want to be riding up the lift with me.