 Excessive speed and lack of ski control is the most common cause for a bad spill. The result of this will often mean a painful sprain or a bruise to the trooper. Let us take this particular case to demonstrate the treatment of a slight knee sprain. After his spill, the skier tests his leg to determine the extent of its injury. Unless ordered to do so, the ski trooper should not travel alone. Or unless he can receive first aid treatment, a serious accident may mean his life. Fortunately for this injured skier, a nearby trooper having observed the accident comes to his aid. The first aid kit is removed from the skier's rucksack and the trooper helps him to his feet. If the knee is sprained, the usual point that is sensitive to pressure is on the inside just below the knee joint. If the skier has full control of his leg, it is only necessary to tape the sprain to prevent further injury. Sprains are caused by the tearing of ligaments that hold the bones in their joints. The purpose of the tape is to supply artificial external ligaments to replace the injured ones. Taping is a mechanical job and the trooper undertaking it should visualize the problem in terms of replacing the injured ligaments. Also, taping is done under tension. Start the tape approximately 8 inches above the knee, holding the top end down and pulling the remainder of the strip taut before taping it on the leg. The second strip of adhesive is applied in the same manner as the first and is crossed over the tape for the purpose of retaining the proper leg tension as well as to keep the knee joint in line. Small anchor tapes are put on the upper and lower ends of the longitudinal strips. The same taping procedure is repeated on the inside of the knee. The method of taping, as you have seen it, permits the normal bending of the knee and still provides adequate external support to the injured ligaments and does not prevent the indispensable minimum movement of the knee joint, which is so necessary for skiing. After the injured knee has been taped, the skier should rise. He then tests his leg, puts his ski on and tries moving with it. If the sprain is too severe, he should be transported back to camp. Otherwise, he may return carefully under his own power. In another case of a sprain, this ski trooper has suffered an injury to his ankle. The patrol leader is examining it to determine the severity of the injury. If the skier has full control of his foot and the sensitive spot is below the ankle bone, it is probably just an ankle sprain. Notice that the patrol leader places the strips of tape across the barrel of his rifle to prevent them from becoming tangled or falling in the snow. The handle of a ski pole can also serve the same purpose. In an injury of this nature, the patient assists the patrol leader in taping his own ankle and pulls his foot toward the shin bone as far as possible to obtain tension. Two strips of tape are put around the foot and back of the ankle bone and anchored on the calf of the leg. Next, the two strips of adhesive are taped down one side of the calf, under the foot, and back up the other side of the leg. Two smaller strips of tape are placed under the ball of the foot and fastened on the top of the instep. An anchor tape is attached around the calf of the leg. A second anchor tape goes slightly above the ankle. Do not apply anchor tape completely around the leg. This precaution will prevent swelling due to impaired circulation. The skier, having only a moderate ankle sprain, gets to his feet and tests his ankle. He discovers that it is able to bear sufficient weight to allow him to ski carefully back to camp. Yet in spite of all precautionary measures, ski patrol units operating on routine missions, training for combat duty, or an actual military action, are bound to have accidents. When accidents such as this bad spill occurs, a ski trooper's life will often depend upon his fellow trooper's knowledge of first aid and their ability to think and act quickly. Here, the members of the patrol stop and return to the injured trooper's assistance. If there is any doubt whether the victim is suffering from a broken bone or a sprain, the injury should always be treated as a break. In this case, intense pain and the loss of control of the injured skier's leg indicates a broken bone. The patrol leader carefully detaches the ski from the injured leg while one trooper removes the ski from the other foot. The third member of the patrol takes off the fallen skier's rucksack and sets about to make him as comfortable as possible. After the injured trooper's equipment has been removed, the patrol leader takes the tent section and sleeping bag from the patient's rucksack. The tent section is spread on the snow to be used as a ground covering. The sleeping bag is unrolled over this to insulate the injured trooper's body from the cold. The trooper is carefully lifted onto the sleeping bag. Extreme caution must be used in handling the injured leg to prevent any tearing of the flesh and muscles by the jagged edges of the broken bone. The rucksack is placed under the trooper's head for added comfort and support. Towels and bandages are pulled out from the rucksack and laid on the ground cover. It is of the utmost importance that warm clothing such as heavy sweaters or even a sleeping bag should be placed over the injured skier. Warmth to his body is essential in order to prevent shock after such an accident. A patrol first aid kit is removed from the rucksack and another tent section is laid over the trooper. A tent section may be rigged up with skis and ski poles for support to form a windbreak. To refresh the injured man it is advisable to give him a few sips of water from the canteen. The first step toward emergency treatment is to fold the diagonal bandage into a cravat. Note that the injured leg is treated without removing the trooper's trousers as a precautionary measure to avoid all unnecessary movement and to protect him from the cold and any additional shock. The bandage is carefully passed around the injured leg. It is then worked up to the groin and the ends are tied in a loose loop at the hip. Leave loose ends 8 to 10 inches long and work the top of a ski pole into a fold of the loop at the knot. Secure the ski pole in this position by lashing the top of the pole with the ends of the bandage. Two bandages are then wrapped in opposite directions around the ankle to form a traction hitch for the foot. Draw the ends of the bandages downward and tie them firmly to the ring of the ski pole. At this stage of treatment the greatest possible care must be used in handling the injured man's leg. All unnecessary movement must be avoided. During the application of the traction an assistant exerts a steady firm pull on the injured leg. The slack in the traction bands is taken up by twisting the bandages with a short stick. The object of traction is to line up the bones and prevent their jagged edges from cutting the flesh, nerves and arteries adjacent to the injury. Attraction binding is only used if the accident occurs at a great distance from the main base camp and the services of a medical detachment soldier are not obtainable. The additional bandages prevent the leg from sagging at the break. Mittens or socks are used as padding to prevent unnecessary chafing of the leg against the ski poles. It is advisable to have all knots on the outside of the splints to facilitate tying and untying and to eliminate further chafing or pressure against the trooper's leg. Note that mittens or other woollen garments are also used on the side splint. The ski poles are used as splints along the outer and inner sides of the leg. A bandage is carefully worked through the ski poles and around the underside of the leg to form a cradle which will securely hold the injured leg in suspension between the ski poles. A heavy sock or mitten is placed between the legs and the inside splint. Now the ends of the bandages are pulled to raise the leg in suspension with the sock acting as a cushion to lessen whatever friction comes from the side splint. By properly using the material at hand, you thus see how a protective traction splint can be made in case of emergency while in the field. Ski climbers are used to further immobilize the leg by binding it to the uninjured one. Additional woollen garments are placed over the legs to provide warmth and prevent chafing from further binding. They too are secured by ski climbers. Finally, a sleeping bag is used to cover the trooper's body in order to keep him warm as the splinting and bandaging reduces the normal circulation of the blood and the injured leg is in danger of freezing unless it is well insulated against the cold. The injured ski trooper is now ready to be transported back to camp. Every member of the ski patrol must take precautionary measures to avoid frostbite and freezing while traveling in a blizzard or sub-zero weather. Feel the exposed parts of your face from time to time. If they have become numb, warm these parts with your hands. Your hands are most important to you, so move your fingers inside your mittens as much as possible. A trick in avoiding frostbitten toes is to wiggle them with each step. Also, at short intervals, look at your fellow trooper's face for the telltale white spots which indicate freezing. In traveling long distances, it's important that ski troopers guard against excessive fatigue. Whenever possible, the patrol leader should give the men a 10-minute rest out of each hour. Mild frostbite at the tip of the fingers may be avoided by swinging the arms in a circle vigorously to drive the blood by centrifugal force into the fingertips. Frostbitten fingers may be warmed by removing the mittens and placing the fingers under the armpits next to the skin. Cold toes may be warmed by removing the boot and rubbing the toes gently with a dry glove, sock or other woolen fabric, being extremely careful not to injure the skin. This must not be done if the toes are actually stiff or if the weather is excessively cold. During this operation, protection from the wind can be secured by dropping a tent or parka over the foot and hands of the frostbitten skier. These troopers are out as a search patrol to find a fellow trooper who has been long overdue from returning to camp. They suddenly come upon him lying unconscious on the snow-swept terrain. Speed is essential to get this man under cover as deep freezing from his continued exposure might already have set him. The first step to see if the victim is still alive is to flex his legs. If this movement is possible, the troopers must work quickly to give him emergency first aid treatment. His rucksack is removed and his tent section is used along with the other troopers so that a tent shelter may be pitched on the spot for protection against the wind. Two of the troopers now carry the frozen skier into the tent and place him on his sleeping bag to insulate his body from the penetrating cold of the snow. While one man removes the troopers' gaiters, boots and socks, a second man loosens his almost frozen clothing to allow freer blood circulation. The third patrol member gets the stove started to prepare a hot drink. This must be done as soon as possible to raise the blood temperature of the patient to normal for deep freezing is frequently accompanied by the lowering of the temperature of the entire bloodstream and the victim of freezing can come dangerously close to death. However, under no circumstances should he be given the drink until he has regained consciousness as he could very easily be strangled by the administration of liquid while he was still unconscious. In this case, the foot and lower portion of the leg have been frozen solid. When a part of the body is frozen solid, it looks like marble and sounds like marble when tapped with the knuckles. The patient's body is rubbed vigorously to produce warmth by friction. Sweaters and other clothing are piled on him to retain all body heat. Meanwhile, several canteens are filled with hot water to be used a little later as hot water bottles. If the patient is still unconscious, be sure to insulate each canteen with clothing so as not to burn his skin. The basic theory is to insulate the body against loss of heat and to warm it in every possible manner so as to raise the blood temperature to normal. The frozen part of the body must be thoroughly covered to prevent any loss of body heat. As the trooper regains consciousness, the hot drink prepared earlier is now given to him. Also, the hot water bottles are now filled and ready to be used. One is placed on the trooper's belly while the other two go under each of his armpits. It is an unbreakable rule never to rub a frozen surface with snow. It cools the flesh and prevents reasonably rapid thawing. Also, vigorous rubbing with snow destroys the flesh by forcing the tiny ice crystals through the cell walls. Freezing, whether deep or superficial, should be treated only by keeping the patient warm and comfortable, allowing the frozen parts of the body to thaw slowly from the inside out as a result of the warming effect of the patient's own blood circulation. The trooper's administering first aid should not be alarmed by the sign of pain. This is an encouraging sign of recovery as it indicates the circulation of the blood is being restored through the frozen part of the body. Final restoration of the circulation is usually shown by the ability of the patient to move his foot and toes. This soldier is now ready to be evacuated. Once a part of the body is frozen, it will freeze quicker the next time. Therefore, the frozen part of the body must be carefully protected from future exposure to freezing temperatures. When such emergencies as these occur, all the knowledge and ingenuity of every man in the ski patrol must come into play. Saving the life of one ski trooper may mean saving the life of an entire patrol and enabling it to continue to the successful completion of its assigned mission. The term first aid has two meanings to a ski trooper. First, the emergency treatment of injured personnel, which you have just seen, and second, the repair of damaged ski equipment. After recovering from a spill, the ski trooper should carefully examine his equipment before continuing on his way. As a result of the spill you have just seen, this trooper finds that the running surface of his ski has split. He also discovers that the ski basket as well as the shaft of his ski pole has been damaged. The ski trooper brings out necessary repair items from his rucksack, which include a roll of leather thong, two ski contraction bands, a roll of adhesive tape, a can of ski wax, a pocket knife, a strip of heavy leather thong, and the combination tool. To repair the broken ski, the trooper first uses his jackknife to smooth the broken portion of the ski. He next reinforces the break by binding adhesive tape tightly around the ski. The first contraction band is attached over the point of break and tightened first by hand and then with the combination tool. The second band is also put on and tightened. The combination of tape and contraction bands will give sufficient reinforcement to put the broken ski back into temporary use. So that the running surface of the ski will be smooth, wax is applied liberally to the repaired portion. The trooper next turns his attention to the broken ski pole, examining the basket and shaft. Since splints are required to repair the shaft of the pole, the trooper makes use of his natural surroundings and cuts a limb from the nearest tree. He strips the limb of unnecessary twigs and branches and then cuts it in half to obtain two splints. These two pieces of sapling are bound firmly on either side of the break on the pole with adhesive tape. The trooper tests the pole and finds that the splints give it sufficient strength to adequately serve him until he returns to camp. To repair the broken ski pole basket, tape is used to mend the point of break in the basket ring. Then the basket is further repaired by the weaving of a leather thong around the pole and under the rivets until a serviceable basket is formed. The clove hitch is used in lashing the basket to the ski pole. Many intricate details are involved when replacing a broken ski binding and close attention should be paid to each of the following steps. The broken cable, which is of no further use, should first be removed. Next, a heavy leather thong is threaded through the slits in the toe irons. The foot is inserted into the toe iron to determine the proper adjustment. The thong is then lashed around the down pole tension catches. Two of these will be found on either side of the ski. The inside of the thong is brought around the heel of the boot and a loop is formed with the outer strap. After the loop is formed, the inside thong is then passed around the heel of the boot. Now the outside strap is passed under the ball of the foot. It is brought up from the inside of the ski and carried back over the instep and looped under itself on the outside of the ski. The trooper then pulls both ends of the strap up tight and ties them with a square knot. This makeshift binding will satisfactorily serve to enable the ski trooper to reach his destination.