Professional ski patrol is a distinct occupation. Professional patrollers work under their employer’s policies, their state’s EMS licensure and the operational demands of a resort, every day of the season.
APP exists to recognize that work: through certification earned by examination, through resources written by working patrollers, and through a network of patrol units that share knowledge across resorts.
APP certification recognizes knowledge and skill demonstrated in APP testing. It does not convey licensing or authorization. Each resort’s policies and procedures, and applicable law, govern patrol operations.
“Certification earned by examination. Resources written by working patrollers. A network of professional patrol units.”
APP's history is the history of professional ski patrol in the American West — built by patrollers who understood that this work demanded more than skill on skis, and who built an organization to carry that commitment across generations.
Established by professional patrollers in the western United States as the FWPSPA — creating a formal credentialing program for professional patrol, distinct from volunteer patrol.
APP built its medical testing on Emergency Medical Technician–level knowledge — a baseline that continues today.
The organization expanded its identity beyond the regional, adopting the Association of Professional Patrollers name.
APP introduces its patrol-unit membership model and prepares The Ski Patrol Operations Resource Guide and the Professional Ski Patroller’s Primer for release as free resources for professional patrollers.
Principles behind the association
Professional patrollers bring medical certification, technical rescue skill, avalanche and explosives knowledge, and years of field judgment to their work. APP recognizes that combination as a profession in its own right.
APP certification is earned domain by domain: an online quiz, then proctored testing evaluated by proctors certified in that domain. Each domain is tested on fixed topics, the same for every candidate.
APP resources are written by working patrollers and offered free to the profession, so that patrollers at every resort can learn from the experience of patrols everywhere.
New patrol units registering with APP as a group receive their first year of unit membership free. Start the conversation with APP leadership.
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