Following an 18 percent increase in head injuries on the pistes in the past three years, Italy has now made it mandatory for all skiers and snowboarders to wear a helmet, this winter, with fines up to €150 for not complying and the risk of having your ski pass confiscated.
It is also illegal in Italy to ski under the influence, the Italian law passed on 1st January, 2022 limiting alcohol intake in resorts to 0.5g/l, the same as drink-driving. So that’ll be just one glass of prosecco at lunch, per favore.
SKI RESORT RESPONSIBILITY CODE
All ski resorts have safety laws and a Responsibility Code of skiing conduct such as always giving way to the downhill skier. Skiing in control is, also, a basic rule although not always easy to follow on an early morning icy piste – and when you are a beginner with all the leg control of Bambi. Skiing in control AND at speed is a debateable offence and normally depends on whether you actually hit another skier – or a tree. But, in America, put the accelerator down and, like flashing red and blue cop cars, the ski patrollers will come after you – and your ski pass.
But you just know, at the height of the winter season when the slopes are rammed, there are going to be accidents. Even as you stand at the ski lift queue, there is a very real danger of being taken out by a ski hooligan smashing into the crowd.
FATAL REACTIONS
The latest figures from the National Ski Areas Association reported 46 deaths in US ski areas, 19 of which were on intermediate runs. Skiing on a busy piste in the holiday season, is like dodgems on ice. And a helmet isn’t necessarily going to save you from the hip or leg broken by a projectile skier or snowboarder slamming into you at speed.
Throw in terrain park freestyle flops (countless head, shoulder, leg injuries), being suffocated in a tree well (4-5 deaths every year in the US) plus the occasional horrific ski lift disaster (30 people injured in the Spanish resort of Astun, last year, ejected from a cable-damaged chairlift), and the potential dangers of skiing in resorts are enough to make you wonder, is it actually safer off piste and in the backcountry?
Well, there are certainly more fatalities on the pistes. Around 35–50 ski resort deaths are recorded annually in the US, while according to the most recent figures there were 11 fatalities from avalanches involving backcountry skiers and snowboarders. Proportionally speaking, of course, there are fewer deaths in resorts, 0.58 per million skiers in the US in 2023-24, so around a one in two million chance of dying.
SELF PRESERVATION
With the current surge in ski touring and splitboarding, boosted by the pandemic closure of ski lifts, the number of backcountry skiers and snowboarders is going up every year – and avalanche fatalities are bound to increase, especially if there is more unstable snowpack created by global warming.
As well as the potential fatal danger of an avalanche, in the backcountry there is, also, the fear of having an accident, twisting a knee in deep powder, for instance, and with no resort ski patrol to call for rescue.
This is why backcountry skiing requires tooling up with transceiver, shovel, probes, avy bag and tech equipment such as satellite GPS communicators. Also, significantly adding to your safety is a knowledge of weather, snow conditions and terrain, all key to self-preservation.
Basically in the backcountry you are relying on your own devices. On the piste you are often at the mercy of everyone else’s devices – and abilities.
A mountain guide for off piste is a very wise way to danger-proof going off grid, at least for initial forays, finding the best routes and learning backcountry craft from an expert. And, with a group of four, a mountain guide can even work out less expensive than a day’s lift pass in resort, thus saving you money as well as from the potential danger of a collision on the piste.
PEACE OFF PISTE
So a hard-packed, people-rammed piste with snaking ski schools? No, thanks. You’ll find me in the backcountry with one ski track ahead (Gav’s) and a set of dog paw prints alongside (Ullr, the snow dog’s). Actually, hopefully you’ll stay in the ski resort and won’t find us enjoying the fresh snow, stunning scenery…and peace far away from the crowded pistes.
