Safety on the slopes, the Piste X Code
The Piste X Code way, stop, look, slide
The Piste X Code is a bilingual, non-profit slope safety campaign. The goal: introduce new skiers and snowboarders to established piste rules, while reminding experienced skiers and snowboarders of their safety responsibilities.
The campaign (pronounced “piste cross code”, like the green cross code) launched in 2022 following a tragic incident on a ski slope in the French Alps, where a young girl lost her life in a collision with another skier. Since then, and during our own time in the mountains with our own children, we’ve observed increasingly poor on-piste etiquette, frequent near-misses, collisions, injuries, and worse.
The Piste X Code is a set of eight rules designed to keep skiers and snowboarders safe on the piste.
Avalanche awareness
- Always check the daily avalanche risk report
- Off-piste? Take a transceiver, shovel, probe, and know how to use them
- Go with a qualified guide or instructor
Slope etiquette
- Give way to skiers below you
- Stop at the side, never in the middle
- Look uphill before setting off
- Stay in control at all times
Helmets matter
- Protect against serious head injury
- Lightweight, warm, and comfortable
- Clip it, forget it, until you need it
Mythbusters
- “Sunny = safe”, hazards happen in all weather
- “Slow skiers don’t need helmets”, most injuries happen at slower speeds
- “Skill beats snowpack”, respect closures, always
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