Mountain and piste safety/skiing etiquette

When skiing with an instructor, their first priority is to keep you safe, and to teach you how to ski safely. But when you ski on your own you need to have the same priority, staying safe on piste, not just for yourself, but also for your fellow slope users. It is important to respect the local guidelines and respect the advice from the ski patrol. You also have to adapt your skiing to the snow/piste conditions and weather conditions. These simple advices may seem obvious but unfortunately we often see unrespectful behavior on the pistes and it can easily lead to injuries.

Mistakes are done both by beginners and expert skiers, small mistakes can have big consequences on the pistes. That’s why the International Ski Federation (FIS) has developed ‘Rules of Conduct’ that apply to all who use the pistes – regardless of what equipment they’re using. This ‘highway code’ for the snow helps everyone to stay safe on the slopes, and should be followed at all times.

FIS Rules of conduct

1. Respect for others

A ski­er or snow­board­er must be­have in such a way that he or she does not en­dan­ger or prej­u­dice others.

2. Con­trol of speed and ski­ing or snow­board­ing

Ev­ery ski­er or snow­board­er must move in con­trol. He must adapt the speed and man­n­er of ski­ing or snow­board­ing to his per­so­n­al abil­i­ty and to the pre­vail­ing con­di­tions of ter­rain, snow and weather as well as to the den­si­ty of traff­ic.

3. Choice of route

A ski­er or snow­board­er com­ing from be­hind must choose his route in such a way not to en­dan­ger skiers or snow­board­ers ahead

4. Overtaking

A ski­er or snow­board­er may over­take another ski­er or snow­board­er above or be­low and to the right or to the left pro­vid­ed that he leaves enough space for the over­tak­en ski­er or snow­board­er to make any vol­un­tary or in­vol­un­tary move­ment.

5. En­ter­ing, start­ing and mov­ing up­wards

A skier or snowboarder en­ter­ing a marked run, start­ing again af­ter stop­ping or mov­ing up­wards on the slopes must look up and down the slopes that he can do so without en­dan­gering himself or others.

6. Stopping

Un­less ab­so­lute­ly ne­ces­sary, a skier or snow­board­er must avoid stop­ping on the piste in nar­row places or where vis­i­bil­i­ty is re­strict­ed. After a fall in such a place, a skier or snowboarder must move and clear the slope as soon as pos­si­ble.

7. Climb­ing and de­s­cend­ing on foot 

A ski­er or snow­board­er ei­ther climb­ing or de­s­cend­ing on foot must keep to the side of the slope.

8. Re­spect for signs and markings

Skiers and snow­board­ers must re­spect all signs and mark­ings.

9. Assistance

At accidents, ev­ery ski­er or snow­board­er is du­ty bound to as­sist.

10. Identification

Every skier or snowboarder and witness, whether a responsible party or not, must exchange names and ad­dress­es following an accident.

What to do in the case of emergency

When cruising on the pistes you may witness an accident, here are a few things you can do to help the victims of an accident on the slopes:

• Secure the accident area

Protect with crossed skis or planted snowboard above the injured person. If necessary post someone
up the slope to give warning, in order to avoid a another incident.

• Alert the rescue services

Contact the resort’s emergency service – the telephone number is normally on the piste map or on your ski card. When skiing in Samoens and Grand Massif, you can call the following number + 33450904678

They will ask you your location so the ski patrol can come and take care of the injured skier/snowboarder.

• First Aid

While waiting for the ski patrol to arrive, and if you have some knowledge of first aid, you can assist the victim as best as you can.