Ski patrollers in their red outfits ensure the safety of the skiers – Ylläs Ski Resort has been a forerunner in developing the safety of the industry

Press release | Tue Feb 07 09:19:00 2023

Ylläs Ski Resort is a forerunner in slope and snow safety and has done significant work in Finland to improve the safety of the industry since the 1990s. These days, the safety experts called ski patrollers are a familiar, daily sight on the slopes. Ylläs participates in the international Ski Patrol Day and showcases its operations on Friday 10 February.

At Ylläs, the Patrol activities were started in 1996. Ylläs was also the first ski resort in Finland to employ a full-time safety expert to take care of the safety of the ski resort environment. These days, there are already about ten ski patrollers at Ylläs who move around in red outfits. Some of them do the work professionally, but among them are also volunteers who have received Patrol training and do the work on a voluntary basis in their free time.

– The start of the Finnish Ski Patrol training in 2013 was a significant thing for the industry and changed the whole concept of safety. Safety is now taken into consideration from the start in all investment and action plans, and safety has improved enormously over the years. The operations are also constantly developed in cooperation with the surveillance authority Tukes. Our goal is to get at least one trained patroller to each member resort of the Finnish Ski Area Association, says Tuomo Poukkanen, the chairman of the Association’s Ski Patrol working group and the Ski Resort Director at Ylläs Ski Resort Äkäslompolo.

Ylläs’ long-term work rewarded

The ski patrollers’ work consists of ensuring safety on the maintained slopes and assisting customers in problem and accident situations. The daily tasks also include cleaning snow off of guide signs as well as the installation and maintenance of safety nets and protective padding. The mere presence of a red-wearing patroller on the slopes creates a feeling of safety.

Ski patrol Ylläs has gone above and beyond in ensuring safety: it has done voluntary work in the nearby area’s fells for almost three decades in case of avalanche danger. In that time, Ylläs has become a know-how-centre of snow safety, and its avalanche experts represent the highest competence in the industry in Finland. In spring 2022, the Finnish Ski Area Association rewarded Ylläs for its long-term work in furthering snow safety.

– With our help, the general understanding of avalanche danger has improved noticeably. We are also glad to help rescue authorities by offering training to professional rescuers and assisting them in potential avalanche rescue missions, says Poukkanen.

The international Ski Patrol Day is celebrated on Friday 10 February. Ylläs Ski Resort opens its doors and showcases its Patrol operations to the audience.

For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Tuomo Poukkanen
Ski Resort Director
Ylläs Ski Resort Äkäslompolo
+358 400 746 718
tuomo.poukkanen@laplandhotels.com

Travel enterprise Lapland Hotels & Safaris offers northern experiences for all senses. It consists of Finland’s largest private hotel chain, Lapland Hotels, the largest experience service company in the Nordic countries, Lapland Safaris Group Oy, and Lapland Ski Resorts. The group has approximately 1,700 employees in total.
Lapland Hotels has 19 hotels, more than 2,400 rooms and apartments as well as over 10,000 restaurant seats around Finland: In Ylläs, Levi, Saariselkä, Rovaniemi, Olos, Luosto, Kilpisjärvi, Pallas, Hetta, Helsinki, Tampere, Oulu, and Kuopio.
Lapland Safaris offers unique outdoor activities in eight destinations in Lapland: Rovaniemi, Ylläs, Saariselkä, Levi, Luosto, Olos, Hetta and Kilpisjärvi.
Lapland Ski Resorts comprises five ski centres located in Ylläs, Luosto, Olos, Pallas and Rovaniemi.
www.laplandhotels.com
www.laplandsafaris.com