About Us

The mission of The Patrol Fund, Inc. is to provide educational opportunities and financial assistance for winter enthusiasts and our ski community to further their snow safety awareness and wilderness first aid knowledge.

During the past few decades, this region has seen a marked increase in backcountry winter recreation without a corresponding increase in educational offerings. In response to this need, The Patrol Fund has started a scholarship program and created the Avalanche Education Program.

The Patrol Fund Community Scholarship provides annual opportunities for five members of our community to attend wilderness medicine courses and snow safety courses. These scholarships are funded by t-shirt sales, corporate sponsorship, the annual patrol fundraiser, and donations from our community members.

Previous to the initiation of the Avalanche Education Program, attending certified or advanced avalanche education courses often required leaving the Flathead Valley, as there was not a consistent annual course in the region. In addition, these courses were often price-prohibitive for many students.

The Patrol Fund avalanche safety programs answer a need in the local community by filling the void in educational opportunities available to local winter sports enthusiasts by providing high-caliber courses with affordable price tags. Throughout the winter season, we offer Level 1 and Level 2 avalanche courses, as well as five community scholarships. This year we have the same offering.

In partnership with the National Forest Service (USFS) and Whitefish Mountain Resort, we are uniquely positioned to provide avalanche education programming to the greater Flathead Valley community. Our instructional staff consists of highly qualified individuals from our community. We are pleased to have top-notch instructors and facilitators such as Erich Peitzsch, USGS Avalanche Specialist and American Avalanche Association (AAA) certified; Jenny Cloutier, ecology, outdoor medicine, and avalanche educator throughout northwest Montana and western Washington; and Lloyd Morsett, snow safety director at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

The effect of high-caliber educational courses on our community is far-reaching. As students become more educated, they, in turn, share this knowledge with their fellow recreationists. This creates an overall safer winter community. As residents of the Flathead Valley and recreationists in the surrounding forests, we believe that an educated public is a safer public. Our programs enable our community to have important tools at their disposal to live and recreate safely.

The Patrol Fund annually supports a variety of organizations within our community including DREAM Adaptive Recreation, A.L.E.R.T. Air Ambulance, the Flathead Avalanche Center, and the Northern Rockies Snow and Avalanche Workshop.