Winter sports and accidents in the mountains: what prevention?

While the winter holidays started with Zone B on Saturday 8 February 2025 and some holidaymakers are joining the winter sports resorts, find all the information on the Ministry's website concerning the prevention of accidents in the mountains.

The site sports.gouv.fr shows you the good reflexes to adopt to ski safely:

• the safety tips on and off the slopes (signage, avalanche hazards, freestyle areas, snowshoes, ski touring...);
• the instructions for children explained in a playful and educational way (educational games, games of the 7 families to cut, security quizzes, tip sheets for sledding, skiing, prevention clips...);
• the physical preparation (warm up before exertion, prepare muscles and stretch well, also make sure to adapt track choices and speed to your physical condition);
• the material (helmet, goggles, sunscreen, wearing ice caps to reduce the risk of falling...);
• the marking and signaling on runways (opening and marking of green, blue, red and black runways, off-runway).

Here are some tips to avoid getting hurt on the ski slopes:

• adapt your speed to your technical and physical capabilities, traffic, visibility, runway difficulty and snow conditions. Slow down, especially by crossing areas for beginners, near the ski lifts and at the bottom of the slopes;
• do not disturb the skiers below you by your trajectories. Anticipate your movements;
• avoid parking in narrow passages or behind bumps and always remain visible and predictable to skiers above you (upstream);
• for your safety, leads are markings and signaling specific. Respect them and, if necessary, ask professional trackers, first responders and device operators. Do not slalom between the beacons: this behavior would expose you to a risk of collision with other runway users;
• some maneuvers can be more difficult to perform in handiski, be careful not to disturb the practitioners.