Staying Alive Off Piste

The off-piste is a wild and wonderful world where skiers, boarders and climbers come to practice their sport and enjoy the beauty and thrills of the mountains. But that beauty comes tinged with danger. Most people you meet off-piste have an intuitive understanding that they are entering a dangerous environment very different from the groomed, controlled and patrolled pistes of a ski resort. But few people appear to have a good sense of either the nature or of the extent of the different classes of risk.

The sad fact is that three hundred people die every year pursuing the sport they love in the high mountains. Many die in avalanches, others from falls in steep places, still others from getting lost, suffering cold injury or crevasse falls. Some of these accidents are down to sheer bad luck but rescue professionals will argue that many of them could have been prevented through better awareness, preparation and decision making.

That is where this guide comes in - a guide dedicated to helping skiers, snowboarders and mountaineers develop the knowledge and skills needed to avoid accidents in the off-piste mountain environment.

We are not mountain professionals but hopefully a bit like you - keen amateur enthusiasts with day jobs who have slowly but surely built up a body of knowledge and experience to allow us to stay safe while pursuing our dreams of adventure and exploration. We have tried therefore to write this from your - and our - perspective: how can I best use my available time and money to make a difference without having to throw everything up and become a full time "professional" - paid or unpaid

The core part of this guide is structured into five sections covering each of the main categories of risk: avalanche, falling on steep group, cold injury, getting lost, and crevasse fall. Each section explains the nature of the risk, tells you what gear you need, and shows you all the "tricks" for avoiding trouble and getting out of it. We also cover the essentials of first aid, mountain fitness, useful stuff like check-lists and sources of further information, and the overall principles that underpin a safe and enjoyable day out in the mountains.

Stay safe, have fun, and we hope you enjoy our guide