A new Mountain Safety Team wearing highly visible orange coats is coming to Steamboat Resort this season as new initiative in guest safety.

“We wanted a team dedicated to safety,” said Corey Peterson, Steamboat Resort vice president of mountain operations. “It’s something that we’ve talked about, and we just made it happen this year. This was a big objective for myself and (Ski Patrol Director) Jon Feiges.”

“This team represents a commitment to creating a safe and positive experience for all guests at the resort,” according to an October media release from Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., which has a scheduled season opening date of Nov. 22.

Peterson said the new team focusing on guest safety will be different from ski patrollers who specialize in medical response. In addition, the yellow-coated Ambassadors will remain to focus on guest assistance, Peterson said. The new Mountain Safety Team is scheduled to be fully operational before the busy Christmas holidays.

“We’ve seen great success at other resorts with similar programs, so establishing a dedicated team to foster a culture of safety on the mountain is an important next step for enhancing the guest safety experience for skiers and riders at Steamboat,” Peterson said.

Dave Byrd, director of risk and regulatory affairs at the National Ski Areas Association in Lakewood, said ski resort mountain safety teams are something skiers “want” and are important to educate about reckless and speed skiing.

“I applaud Steamboat for developing their new safety team,” Byrd said. “It’s a very positive trend we are seeing at ski areas around the country, and we are hearing that skiers and snow boarders love the increased visibility on the mountain.”

“There’s a sincere and concerted effort across the ski industry to better educate guests about the dangers of reckless skiing and excessive speed, and I’m confident that Steamboat’s efforts will improve the overall guest experience there,” Byrd said.

Members of the new safety team will be versed in the National Ski Areas Association Responsibility Code to promote safe practices on the mountain through frequent guest interactions.

“With the backing of Ski Patrol and Ambassadors, Mountain Safety Team will be the frontline of speed management, safety education and conflict resolution to continue creating a great guest experience while enhancing safety visibility and presence on the mountain,” according to the resort release.

Steamboat Ski Patrol Director Feiges said he is excited about having a visible team specifically dedicated to safety education considering all the other duties that ski patrol staff must complete ranging from performing first aid to avalanche control.

Byrd said various resorts such as Copper Mountain in Summit County, Jackson Hole in Wyoming or Killington Resort in Vermont have exemplary mountain safety teams. Various teams operate a little differently and are overseen by departments such as guest relations, mountain operations or ski patrol.

“By embracing this concept of safety teams or mountain ambassadors, this enables our ski patrollers to fully focus on their tasks of responding to incidents and mitigating hazards across the mountain,” Byrd said.

The Mountain Safety Patrol at Copper Mountain started in 2004. Some 130 volunteers and two part-time leads on the overall team ski in red jackets that are discernible from Ski Patrol jackets. Team Supervisor Shauna Bocksch at Copper called the safety patrol a “tremendous asset.”

“I measure the success of the program by guest feedback, which applauds the visibility of the Mountain Safety Patrol on our busy trails,” Bocksch said. “They feel safer knowing the team’s main focus is to keep them and their families safe on the slopes.”

Peterson at Steamboat, the father of two children ages 7 and 14 who ski or snowboard, emphasized he wants all skiers and riders to have a safe on-mountain experience. He said resort organizers chose orange coats for the new team for high visibility and to symbolize serving a role between the yellow-coated Ambassadors and the red-coated Ski Patrol.

Peterson said the Mountain Safety Team will include seven paid individuals including a manager expected to be named publicly later this week, two supervisors and four paid crew, along with some 28 volunteers. He said application interest for the team was strong.

The new team members also will have enforcement ability to suspend ski passes as necessary with assistance from ski patrol. Feiges emphasized the “ultimate goal is to create allies” to help build a positive culture of safety where no skiers or riders act as a “detriment to other people’s experience.” Feiges said the new team also will conduct school classroom safety education visits and enhance the culture of safety with employees and the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

Both Peterson and Feiges said community member response about the team has been positive.

“People are very positive about this because they really like to see more presence of employees out on the mountain concerned about safety,” Feiges said.

This story was originally by Steamboat Pilot.