Industry News
Since 1995 icebreaker has been trailblazing natural performance apparel. At the heart of the company lies transparency, responsibility, and innovation. Its mission is movement towards a more natural way of living and push the status quo. Just this month the New Zealand-based company reached 96.14% of its goal to become 100% plastic-free. Alongside its pursuit of sustainability in performance apparel, it ran a campaign to highlight trailblazing women patrollers in January: Powder & Power: Celebrating trailblazing patrollers. Saluting the women of the National Ski Patrol who help to keep us safe on the slopes, icebreaker donated $10,000 to the growth and education of female patrollers.
International Ski Patrol Day on February 10 this year is a day to honor the everyday heroes who work tirelessly to ensure our mountains are safe and open for all to enjoy. Resorts across the world have shared stories of their dedicated patrollers who work tirelessly day in and day out and are necessary for the success of their mountain. Aspen and Winter Park are lucky to have these two trailblazers and inspirations on their teams: Tessa Dawson and Kathleen Smith.
Her passion for helping others combined with her love for skiing led Tessa Dawson to patrolling. She started skiing in ski school at Mammoth Mountain and her calling to patrolling has taken her across other resorts including Park City, Crested Butte, and Aspen, where she is the Ski Patrol Director. When she is not patrolling, she continues her love of the outdoors and community safety as a rafting guide.
Although statistics show only around 30% of ski patrollers are female, Dawson feels there is a significant rise in women applying to and persevering in the ski patrol realm. Her leadership role is an inspiration for women looking to join ski patrol and Dawson’s advice for those women is to “take a chance and go for it” because she believes patrolling is an inclusive endeavor and you will learn and improve along the way.
Since the role can be very demanding, Dawson embraces the simple moments such as sunrise lift rides and doing rope drops to open new terrain on powder days. She believes contributing to community safety on the mountain starts with each individual skier and emphasizes the importance of being prepared when heading to the mountain.
Thank you Tessa Dawson for your hard work and dedication to community safety on and off the mountain!
Love and passion for skiing and helping others is what drove Kathleen Smith to become a ski patrol and now she has continued in the industry for over two decades. Kathleen Smith began skiing in the Winter Park Eskimo Ski Club, joined the Junior Ski Patrol there as well, and now is a dedicated volunteer patroller each season at Winter Park. She is a trailblazer through her leadership in the ski patrol industry — she currently is the Rocky Mountain Women’s Supervisor for the National Ski Patrol.
Smith is a dedicated patroller and believes patrolling has given her a strong community where she can give back and foster relationships. The community has given her a place to contribute to the safety and well-being of others as well as opened doors for her career advancements. Smith has also seen the industry shift its focus to attract and support women and believes the rise of women on patrol and in supervisor positions at Winter Park and other resorts is a great inspiration for females looking to join ski patrol.
Being able to call the other patrollers her family is what Smith cherishes about patrolling. As Smith continues contributing to safety on the mountain, she believes that proper gear preparation, especially wearing a helmet, is critical to establishing a solid foundation while on the mountain.
Thank you Kathleen Smith for being an inspiration to women in the ski patrol industry!
Noah Bryan, North America’s General Manager for icebreaker, said January’s campaign is at the heart of who icebreaker is as a brand and what it stands for. “We’re not just saying thanks for keeping us safe on the slopes, we’re also celebrating their resilience, strength, and the sheer determination they bring to their work every day.” Making a positive impact from its business, interaction with its community, or the footprint it leaves on the planet is mission critical to the company. Bryan also emphasized the importance of inspiring those pursuing their passions and breaking through barriers in the outdoors. As a brand that is looking to challenge the status quo, empowering those trying to reach personal milestones or excel in their outdoor leadership field is also important.
A big thank you to our ski patrollers throughout the world, including Tessa Dawson and Kathleen Smith, and icebreaker for its support of women in ski patrols.
