⛷️ Stuff Every Skier Should Know: Training Guide

The Code and Right of Way

The Responsibility Code lists ten rules for everyone on the slopes. The first rule is to always stay in control. Control means you can stop or turn to avoid people and objects.

People ahead of you or below you have the right-of-way. They cannot see you coming, so the skier who is behind and above must steer clear.

Stop only where you are visible from above and where you are not blocking traffic. A good spot is at the trail edge in plain view.

Before you start downhill or enter a trail, look uphill and yield to people already moving. This check prevents most surprises.

The international ski federation FIS also has ten conduct rules. They cover not endangering others, speed, right of way, passing, stopping and helping after accidents.

Closed Trails, Impaired Skiing and Emergencies

Keep off trails and areas marked closed. Trails close for hazards or grooming work, and the signs protect you and the crew.

Avoid lifts and terrain when alcohol or drugs have impaired you. These substances reduce balance, quick thinking and judgment.

After a collision, stay and share contact information with the other people and a ski area employee. Witnesses should also give their names.

Crossed skis stuck in the snow mean someone needs assistance. A laid-down snowboard uphill of an injured person is another signal.

If someone is hurt, tell the nearest lift operator the exact location. Give the trail name, tower number, and whether the person is left or right of the run.

Smart Decisions and Hidden Hazards

The #RideAnotherDay campaign asks you to be ready to slow down, stay alert, and plan ahead for blind spots and merges.

The Triangle of Safety from the Snow Angel Foundation focuses on three things: controlling how fast you go, leaving room around others, and looking after yourself with proper gear and rest.

Slow down when you cannot see over a roller. Rollers hide people and objects on the other side.

Ski within the limits of your own ability. Know how hard a slope is for you and choose an easier run if it feels too steep.

Take a lesson. Instructors teach control, how to use lifts and safe habits, which makes skiing more fun and safe.

Tree wells and deep snow are dangerous. Always ski with a partner you can see. If you fall into deep snow, you may get trapped upside down and be unable to breathe without help.

US Trail Signs

In the US, a green circle marks an easier run. These are the gentlest slopes and are good places for new skiers to learn.

A blue square means more difficult. It is a step up from green.

A single black diamond means most difficult. Two black diamonds side by side add extra caution and are for expert skiers and riders.

Before you ride a lift, check the trail map and the trail symbols off that lift. Make sure the runs served by that lift fit your ability.

Swiss Trail Markers and Terrain Parks

Swiss piste colors are blue for easy, red for medium and black for difficult. This differs from US colors, where blue means more difficult.

A yellow Swiss marker shows an unprepared, uncontrolled run for skilled skiers. These runs are not groomed and get no final patrol sweep.

An orange oval on a trail sign means a terrain park is ahead. Many features or jumps have a way to ride around them.

In terrain parks, start small. The S in Park SMART means Start small, and XS features are the smallest size to practice on.

After using a jump in a terrain park, clear out of the landing area quickly. The next person is already coming.

Falling and Getting Up

Many skiers hurt shoulders because they put their arms out to break a fall. Lessons teach how to fall safely, and learning to fall correctly reduces injury risk.

If you fall with skis on, swing your feet around so the skis lie across the hill, downhill of your body. Skis pointing downhill start sliding the moment you stand.

Plant your poles uphill, next to your hip, and push and pull on them to bring your body up over your feet and skis.

If standing up is still too hard, take off the uphill ski. It is easier to click back in while balancing on the downhill ski.

For a snowboarder, the easiest way to get up is to rise from a kneeling position. Roll onto your side, turn the board across the hill, dig the toe edge into the snow and rise slowly.

Loading and Riding

One part of the chairlift ABCs is Bottom to Bottom, Back to Back. Keep your bottom on the seat and your back against the chair. The A is Attention: ask the attendant if you are unsure. The C is Careful: face forward for the whole ride.

While waiting to load, take pole straps off your wrists and hold your poles in one hand. A snowboarder should remove the back foot from the binding.

Small children should not lower the restraint bar themselves. An adult or older kid should lower it slowly after everyone is seated.

In Switzerland, kids shorter than 1.25 meters ride a chairlift with an escort who can help them.

If Something Goes Wrong

If you drop an item, let it fall. Reaching for it can make you slip off the chair. Ask ski patrol or the top attendant for help getting it back.

If the chairlift slows or stops mid-ride, remain in your seat. Lifts slow or stop often, so stay seated, hold on and wait.

As you unload, keep your ski tips or the front of your board up and straight ahead. This keeps them from catching on the ramp.

If no one can reach the restraint bar, sit all the way back in the seat.

You can wave at the attendant to ask them to slow the chair at the top.

Helmets and Runaway Equipment

Helmets can reduce head injuries by 30 to 50 percent. They help most at slower speeds.

About 90 percent of skiers and riders wore helmets in the 2023-24 season. That is up from 25 percent in the 2002-03 season.

Wear a helmet but ski as if you are not wearing one. A helmet is a second line of defense, and skiing in control matters more.

Use leashes, straps or brakes to prevent runaway equipment. A loose ski or board can slide down a slope and hit someone.

Get a pre-season wax and tune for your skis. Try on your boots and check your helmet fit before the first ski day.

Clothing and Accessories

Avoid cotton clothing. When cotton gets wet, it gets cold and makes you miserable. Choose wool or synthetic layers that move moisture away and add a waterproof outer layer.

Do not wear two or three pairs of socks in ski boots. Extra socks restrict circulation and can make your feet colder. One pair of tall, light or medium weight wool or synthetic socks works best.

Low light goggle lenses help you see bumps and dips in flat light. They usually have a yellow or rose tint.

Air-activated hand warmers make heat when iron powder and other ingredients react with air. This is a fast oxidation process, like a speedy cousin of rusting. Never place them directly on bare skin.

Gloves or mittens matter because hands are often the first part of the body to get cold.

Ski Bindings and Boots

A recommended binding release setting is based on weight, height, age, skier type and measured boot sole length. Trained technicians use these details.

An authorized shop technician should adjust your ski bindings. If the setting is too low, skis may pop off unexpectedly. If it is too high, bindings may not release when they should. The technician also checks boot compatibility, binding fit and forward pressure.

Even new boots in the same labeled size can have different actual sole lengths by a few millimeters. A shop should measure and adjust your bindings when you get new boots.

If your ski boots really hurt, adjust the buckles or have someone adjust them. Pain means something is off, and you should not put up with it.

Frostbite and Hypothermia

Frostbite most often affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers and toes. Exposed skin and the body parts farthest from your core lose heat fastest.

Never rub frostbitten skin with snow or massage it. Rubbing frozen skin can damage tissue that is already hurt. Get to shelter and rewarm gently instead.

To rewarm frostbitten fingers in water, use warm water that is comfortable to the touch, not hot. Numb skin cannot feel heat well, so hot water can burn it. See a health care provider.

Hypothermia happens when the body loses heat faster than it can make it. Wind, wet clothes and long cold days can cause it.

Hypothermia builds slowly and clouds your thinking, so you may not realize you need help. Ski with a buddy and check on each other's shivering, clumsiness and mood.

Wind Chill and Altitude

Wind chill tells you how cold people and animals feel outside. Wind carries heat away from exposed skin, so it feels colder than the thermometer says.

Wind chill does not make objects colder than the actual air temperature. If air is 0 F with a -19 F wind chill, a parked car still cools only to 0 F.

At 0 F with a 15 mph wind, exposed skin can freeze in about 30 minutes. Cover your cheeks and nose on windy chairlifts.

Acute mountain sickness symptoms usually begin about 2 to 12 hours after arriving high. Take it easy and drink water on arrival day.

Sun, Whiteouts and Eye Protection

Snow blindness is really a sunburn on the cornea. UV light damages the surface of the eye, causing pain, light sensitivity and blurry vision.

Snow blindness symptoms usually show up about 12 hours to a day after the sun exposure. UV damage does not hurt right away, so wear goggles all day.

You need goggles or sunglasses on cloudy days too. Clouds do not block all UV, and snow reflects UV light back at your eyes.

Reapply sunscreen about every two hours on the slopes. Sweat, wind and rubbing wear it off.

In a whiteout, contrast vanishes so you cannot tell the horizon from the snow surface. Slow down and stay near people you know.

Meeting Spots and Whistle Signals

Pick a meeting spot before you hit the slopes in case someone gets separated. Cold can stop a phone from turning on or sending texts. Choose an obvious place and time, like a major intersection or the bottom of a chairlift.

Three short whistle blasts in a row mean you need help. Blow three times, pause, listen and repeat. Wear the whistle high on your collar so you can reach it.

A child should carry a paper with parents and hotel name and phone number in a secure pocket. A trail map and the instructor's name also help.

Avalanche Danger and Terrain

The North American avalanche danger scale has five levels: Low, Moderate, Considerable, High and Extreme.

At Considerable (level 3), human-triggered avalanches are likely. Historically, most avalanche deaths have happened on Considerable days.

At Extreme (level 5), natural and human-triggered avalanches are certain. Avoid all avalanche terrain and run-out zones.

Most slab avalanches start on slopes between 30 and 50 degrees. Avalanches on slopes under 30 degrees are rare, but rare does not mean safe.

Trees are the most common terrain trap that causes avalanche trauma injuries and deaths. Small slides can be deadly when they carry people into trees.

Safety Gear and Rescue

Wear your avalanche beacon always on your body and in send mode. If someone is buried, partners switch to search mode.

Do a beacon check before leaving the trailhead. Everyone's beacon should be on and working, and readings should shrink as they get closer.

Use a metal avalanche shovel, not plastic. Plastic can break in dense avalanche debris, and digging is the most time-consuming part of rescue.

An avalanche probe is a long, collapsible rod used to pinpoint a buried person's exact spot after the beacon search narrows it down.

Most avalanche burial victims have less than 15 minutes before suffocating. Companion rescue is often the only way to save your partner.

When digging out a buried partner, dig from downhill of them. This preserves their airway and reduces your work.

Groups, Electronics and Backcountry Gates

Traveling alone in avalanche terrain is especially risky because no partner can rescue you if you are buried. Solo travel greatly increases your vulnerability.

Groups of four or more people are more at risk. Bigger groups impact more parts of a slope, raising the chance someone triggers a slide or gets caught.

Keep phones and electronics at least 50 cm (arm's length) from your beacon in search mode. In transmit mode, keep devices at least 20 cm away.

Before leaving a resort for the backcountry, go only through a designated backcountry gate. A gate separates controlled, inbounds terrain from uncontrolled backcountry.

Backcountry gates often have beacon check stations, where a green light or faster beeps show your beacon works.

Uphill travel policies differ by resort. At most Colorado Ski Country USA areas that allow uphill travel, a separate uphill pass and a reflective armband are required. Some resorts ban uphill travel entirely. Check the resort's rules first.