Impaired skiers in RCMP’S sights
CLARA HO If Alberta Mounties have their way, the only kind of high you’re going to get on the slopes is from doing a double black diamond on a powder day.
RCMP officers are hitting Lake Louise and Nakiska in full uniform on their days off, patrolling the hills by ski and snowboard to keep an eye out for substance abuse and other illegal behaviour.
The main thing is to act as a visual deterrence, said Cpl. Jeff Campbell, Lake Louise RCMP detachment commander and one of eight officers currently taking part in the volunteer patrol program.
“We were hearing a few things about people smoking marijuana, drinking in the gondola, reckless skiing, and we wanted to be proactive in consultation with senior management of ski hills and ski patrollers,” said Campbell, who patrols by snowboard.
Like impaired driving, alcohol and drugs can impair people’s judgment on the hill and increase the risk of injuries to themselves or others, he added.
RCMP officers were already doing foot patrols near the ski racks. They’ve simply expanded their patrol area to the slopes, he said.
As of Dec. 15, uniformed officers started patrolling Lake Louise on their days off, usually Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and peak holiday times. On their first day, officers came across people smoking marijuana, seized three joints and escorted those individuals off the hill, he said.
This month, they also started keeping an eye on skiers and snowboarders at Nakiska in Banff.
“It’s not a new idea. Back in the 1990s, Lake Louise had officers on the ski hill and, for whatever reason, the program fizzled out or ran its course,” he said.
The program is modelled after one in Whistler, which was introduced in 1993 and has been effective in keeping the hills safe and enjoyable.
There are currently eight officers in the pool. Campbell said he’s hoping to expand the program to Norquay, Sunshine and other ski hills, and is looking for other Alberta Mounties who are interested.
All must pass a test and demonstrate their skiing or snowboarding abilities before joining the program. So far, the program seems to be “quite favourable” with most of the skiers and snowboarders who encounter the police on the hills, he said.
Eric Reid, who has been skiing for nearly six decades, said he used to work at Fernie Alpine Resort where there was a successful police patrol program.
“We had a large amount of theft on the hill with our customers’ ski equipment. Once we established the program with the local RCMP, the theft did go down,” he said. “Their presence on the hill seemed to buffer things a bit.”
But Ryan Lock, who both skis and snowboards, said people will likely continue to smoke pot or drink on the hills no matter what.
“I don’t think people using and abusing will be deterred in any way,” he said. “I don’t think there’s that big of a drug and alcohol use problem on the hill. Generally, people aren’t going to the mountains to get high and drunk.”
Sandy Best, director of business development at Lake Louise, said the RCMP officers are valuable members of the community and he welcomes them as frequent ski hill users.