This page is designed to help you understand the risks of backcountry & resort skiing activities, and spread awareness of how to mitigate them. An important resource that has been used countless times as a reference in this page is https://skisafety.ca/

Alpine Responsibility Code — Click this image for more information

Know Before You Go

The more information we have, the more empowered we are to stay safe. Know Before You Go includes:

Weather

Bringing the appropriate layers for the forecasted conditions
Understanding that mountain weather is rapid and unpredictable
Bringing sunscreen, goggles, and properly polarized lenses to protect from the sun's rays, even if it’s cold and cloudy
Recognizing the onset of frostbite and returning to a rewarming area if any skin turns white or loses sensation
Read and UNDERSTAND avalanche forecasts for areas in which you wish to travel
Understand how warming cycles throughout the day effect the terrain you are travelling in

Surroundings

Be aware of where you are and the risks that are posed by being there
Don’t stop in places of high traffic such as cat tracks or in the middle of runs
Don’t stop in corners or below blind rollers
Always asses overhead hazards before stopping in backcountry terrain
Establish a buddy system for tree-welled terrain
Always have your head on a swivel, yield to uphill riders

Communicate

As previously mentioned, create a buddy system and always keep that person in your sight
Communicate to a reliable entity your itinerary for the day, including destination, partners, and check in times
Identify designated meeting places in the event on separation
Carry a cellphone with you and have the numbers for SAR & Patrol programmed
Carry a radios or a satellite device for areas without cell service

Equipment

If you have any doubts about the safety of your equipment, get it checked by a professional
Helmets are strongly recommended

Play within your limits

Recognize that exhaustion can take a toll on your abilities
Stay well fuelled, days of skiing take more energy than your regular day
Warm up and cool down before and after days of exertion

Check with your local ski hill about their smoking policy. In the backcountry, always pack out what you pack in - even cigarettes.

Signage

ALWAYS adhere to the rules and notices written on signage in your ski resort, ignoring these messages could result in danger to yourself and others, as well as lift pass loss
Signage does not just pertain to ski runs, but also parking lots, day lodges, bathrooms, retail areas, etc.
Closed means CLOSED
Respect the ski boundary unless you have proper avalanche equipment, knowledge, and a trip plan
Hazards may be marked, i.e. CLIFF, ROCK, HAZARD, but that will not protect you from harm. It is part of your responsibility under the Alpine Responsibility Code to avoid all obstacles or hazards, including those that are so marked.
Be sure to understand trail signage before you attempt any ski runs - i.e. Green, Blue, Black, Double Black, Glades

Speed & Collision Safety

Only ski as fast as you can CONFIDENTLY control, regardless of what surprises or obstructions might be in the trail
Plan ahead - look for uphill skiers, uncovered obstacles, cat tracks, and approach blind rolls and corners slowly
Give people lots of space while passing
Stay alert, conditions can change rapidly throughout the day - no run looks the same at the end of the day as it did at the beginning

Terrain Park - Courtesy of Smart Style

If you are riding through the terrain park, make sure to….

Start small (and build up)
Make a plan (how to you intend to hit this feature?)
Look before you drop (is the run out clear?)
Respect others
Stay within your limits (can you visualize landing on your feet?)

And as always, pre-ride, re-ride, free-ride. For more on park etiquette check out https://skisafety.ca/terrain-parks/

Backcountry Skiing - ASSUMPTION OF RISK

Backcountry Skiing activities may take place in mountainous or backcountry terrain and may involve risks and dangers including the possibility of death, damage to my property and physical or psychological injury

Backcountry skiing activities is subject to various inherent dangers, hazards and risks, including, without limitation: changing weather conditions; avalanches, exposed or subsurface rock, earth, ice, cornices and other natural or manmade objects; trees, tree wells, tree stumps and forest deadfall; variations in the terrain or weather which may create blind spots or areas of reduced visibility; variations in the surface or sub-surface; variable and difficult conditions; streams, creeks and exposed holes in the snowpack above streams or creeks; holes and depressions, cliffs, banks, fences, crevasses

Backcountry skiing activities is subject to human hazards such as but not limited to snowcat roads, road-banks or cut-banks; collision with lift towers, trees, fences, snow making equipment, snow grooming equipment, snowcats, snowmobiles or other vehicle equipment, structures or other persons; winter travel on highways, backcountry roads and snowcat roads

Becoming lost or separated from the instructor or other participants
Encounters with domestic or wild animals;
Weather related injuries and illness including frostbite, exposure, heat exhaustion, sunburn, hypothermia and dehydration
Exposure to and transmission of illness, including COVID-19; accidents or illness arising without ready access to medical facilities
Risks that may arise due to my inadequate physical fitness or endurance
Injuries which may arise from embarking and disembarking ski lifts, snowcats, snowmobiles or other vehicles
Negligence of other skiers, snowboarders and other persons including negligence, mistake or omission on the part of fellow skiers

Chair lift safety — Click this image for more information

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