Basic Safety Precautions for Skiing

Skiing and snowboarding are popular winter sports in the United States. During the winter of 2017-2018, approximately 7 million people considered themselves active skiers, along with roughly 2.2 million snowboarders. In order to safely and effectively share the slopes with fellow skiers and snowboarders, individuals should adhere to the responsibility code and refrain from taking on trails that are beyond their skill level.

The responsibility code is promoted by both the National Ski Areas Association and the National Ski Patrol. It outlines seven key areas of safety that people should follow at all times.

Arguably the single most important safety tip skiers and snowboarders should follow is always maintaining control over their person and equipment. Control can be divided into areas of speed and direction. A person should never be traveling so fast down the mountain that they cannot come to a complete stop and avoid contact with an obstacle or person further along the run. Similarly, people should travel in such a way that they can easily turn or otherwise navigate the trail ahead.

Part of the reason control is so important is that skiers and snowboarders further down the run cannot see and react to people behind them. There is an implicit trust that every person will demonstrate respect for the safety of others while traveling down the mountain. With this in mind, people must remember that anyone further along the trail has the right of way. It is always the responsibility of those uphill to avoid downhill activity.

The sole exception to this standard involves merging with a new trail or returning to a trail from the sidelines. In this scenario, all skiers and snowboarders already on the trail have right of way, even those further uphill from the point of merger. Merging skiers must wait until there is a safe opportunity to get back on the run.

In addition to merging safely, the responsibility code outlines how to safely remove oneself from a run. Rather than stopping at the site of an incident, individuals should quickly head to the side of the trail and stand as far back from the action as possible. That said, if an injury forces one or more people to stop in the middle of a trail, they must make sure that skiers and boarders uphill can see them with enough time for a safe, controlled reaction.

The responsibility code also outlines the safe use of mountain amenities and winter sports equipment. For example, most ski mountains and resorts make use of chairlifts. people should not use chairlifts unless they are confident in their ability to enter, ride, and exit the lift without posing any danger to themselves or others. In regard to equipment, all skiers and boarders are expected to stop runaway equipment whenever possible, both as a courtesy and safety measure. That being said, they should always use a device, such as a ski pole, to stop equipment, as opposed to grabbing at the equipment or using their body to block it.

Finally, people are required to follow all signs and warnings on a mountain, including trail rating signage. Trails marked as green circles, for example, rank among the easiest on the mountain. Blue square trails have been rated as intermediate, while black diamonds are the most difficult runs a mountain has to offer. In some cases, skiers may see double or triple black diamond signs, indicating trails that should only be attempted by advanced riders.