Guardian Angel on Snow

A failed turning manoeuvre, a moment of inattentiveness, an over-spirited bit of après-ski

and bang! it’s happened: flying skis and poles or a toboggan stuck in a snowdrift! What usually ends up as a rather less than gentle, but minor crash-landing in the snow can sometimes have more serious consequences. If this should be the case, everyone is happy when the ski slope saviours from the Tre Cime – Dolomites ski resort hurry to help. The experienced teams, such as Artur Hackhofer and Damian Hofer, are made up of members of the Sesto mountain rescue and White Cross. Every twosome is responsible for the safety of a particular section of piste on the Croda Rossa, Stiergarten, Monte Elmo and Monte Baranci skiing mountains – and not only when an emergency call comes in via 112. Their role is also to act in a preventative capacity and report possible danger points. This means that their working day starts long before the first winter sportsmen and women roll in, with early morning inspection tours of the slopes and toboggan runs. Nevertheless there are always accidents – and consequently deployments for the saviours on skis. When an emergency call comes in via the switchboard, quick, professional action is called for. When every moment counts, genuine team spirit, experience and knowledge is essential. In the blink of an eye the rescuers arrive at the scene of the accident, care for the injured and bring them – if necessary – to the nearest valley station for transfer to the White Cross. A job for guardian angels in red, who we can no longer imagine the ski slopes without.