A crash course aids awareness

Mountains high on safety program

January 13, 2005|Globe Correspondent

Drive a car? Ride a bike? The message is the same on the slopes: Be aware.

Safety, respect, and awareness will be in the spotlight at mountains nationwide during National Safety Awareness Week, a Jan. 15-21 initiative sponsored by the ski industry group National Ski Areas Association. Among the offerings at ski areas nationwide will be free ski binding checks, helmet demonstrations, and contests.

"Be aware of the surroundings and conditions," said Tom Meyers, spokesman at Wachusett Mountain in Princeton. "Those are probably the most important."

At Wachusett, when school groups arrive, the buses are greeted by employees, who give a rundown on slope etiquette, so it's fresh in the young skiers' minds.

Though safety might seem ho-hum, skiing and snowboarding come with risks -- broken bones to death. According to the NSAA, over the past decade about 38 people have died each year in skiing or snowboarding accidents.

Just as skiing has long had its Responsibility Code, terrain parks are now home to a Smart Style campaign started by Burton Snowboards: Look before you leap, respect gets respect, and easy style it.

Sunday River has its fledgling Go with the Flow program that features lime green signs reminding skiers to use sound judgment on the slopes.

"Safety is a continuous focus for us," said Sunday River spokeswoman Susan Duplessis. "We're glad that there is a week where it gets more attention than normal."

They're all on board