Find out about activities at your resort, and if there aren’t any, offer your assistance to help your resort get more involved. Although the Code forms that foundation of safety awareness, there are all kinds of ways that resorts can put their own spin on it.
there are all kinds of ways to draw people into the celebration.” If you teach older kids or adults (i.e., those who might not be into a birthday party), you might want to fill them in on the history of the Code. For example, did you know that the origins of the Code are closely linked to those of NSAA? In 1962, the fledgling advocacy organization for ski area operators got off the ground, and one of its objectives was to develop a safety code. In 1965, the group unveiled what was then called “Te Skier’s Courtesy Conduct Code,” an eight-point precursor to the current version. Back then, the Code addressed skiers
only, since snowboarding wouldn’t arrive on the mainstream scene for another 20 years. In 1994, in keeping with the increasing popularity of riding, NSAA changed the word “Skier’s” in the title to “Your.” And, speaking of the emphasis on inclusiveness, there is now a Spanish translation of the Code available through NSAA.
Each iteration of the Code is a strong
reflection of the changing times, Byrd said. Artwork commissioned by NSAA for the early Code featured a skier with a cigarette dangling from his lips. (Tis was, after all, the Mad Men era.) Another early version encouraged shouting a warning at skiers while overtaking them on the slopes, and calling to people walking up the ski slope to move to the side of the trail.
WAYS TO MAKE COMMON- SENSE SAFETY MORE COMMON Resorts and ski schools obviously want to engage everyone – whether beginner or expert – in safety discussions. One message with broad appeal is the fact that even skiers and riders at the highest skill levels, including world-class competitors, must place an emphasis on safety to do what they do and enjoy their sports. Or, you can talk about how responsible, intelligent choices benefit backcountry skiers even more than transceivers and Ava-lung technology. You might even pull up a video on your smartphone during a break to show one of the Lindsey Vonn or Bode Miller epic crashes, or Jeremy Jones surviving a massive slide in a Teton Gravity Research trailer. Overall, talking about athletes at the pinnacle of our sport to frame a discussion about safety in recreational-level skiing and riding is a great hook. In this age of YouTube clips, there are plenty of clever videos specifically addressing safety, and your ski school might even have recommendations. Pull out your device during lift rides and cocoa breaks and share clips like the Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association’s “Get a Grip” (
youtube.com/ watch?v=6Sd2rdcwEqk), or Vonn going undercover as a safety officer at one of Vail’s slow skiing and riding zones (youtube. com/watch?v=HuGO0SN8J_g).
The Code has evolved from early versions.
IF YOU MAKE SAFETY FUN, IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE How many times have you worked on a skill
in a lesson, only to see your student return to their original habits when practicing on their own? Te ultimate goal – and challenge – is to have students adopt safe practices instinctively after the lesson is over. “If you can make safety fun, it’s easier for students to grab on and take it home with them,” said Rick Kinsman, a supervisor in the ski and ride school at Stowe, Vermont, and a Level III alpine and Level I snowboard instructor with a Children’s Specialist 2 credential. “We know that when students actively engage in their learning, they’ll have higher retention.” In other words, rather than merely intone
all seven items from Your Responsibility Code why not have students play a more active role in their learning? Here are examples of activities that help ingrain the safety message with students. While they may seem basic, you can always customize
them to different age groups: QPlay a game. A game called “Remote Control” is a great way to teach students about the second item in the Code (People ahead of you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.) Have students ski in pairs with one at a safe distance in front of the other. Using an imaginary remote control, the follower makes a “beep” sound to signal the leader to make a direction change. Te leader continues in that direction until the next “beep,” which prompts another direction change. Te idea is that both students have to be keenly aware of obstacles and other riders. Te leader has to turn on command, and both work to ensure the leader doesn’t hit anything. Follow up the game with a discussion of the Code and how it applies.
QHave students make their own observations. In teaching the third item in the Code (You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above), find a safe place to stop with your group – preferably way to the side of the slope or in the lee of a tree, sign, or snow gun. Observe others and where they
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