All Mt staff should teach ski safety

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 304, 12 September 1989, Page 5

All Mt staff should teach ski safety

Everybody working on the mountain has some responsibility to teach safe skiing according to DoC conservation officer Graeme Ayres.

He said this in answer to the Bulletin's question on whether ski schools have a respon-

sibility to teach a ski safety code. He said th&re were many unsafe practices

among skiers which could easily be avoided, though the majority of skiers act responsibly. He's concerned that many are skiing too fast and out of control, especially through bot-tle-neck areas where in-

experienced skiers gather. "All mountain staff should act when they see unsafe practices," said Mr Ayres. He said it takes diplomacy to be effective, that it is generally better to point

out the dangers the skier is threatening themselves and others with rather than "rip into them". "It needs to be handled non-aggressively," he said. "There are some who need to be come

down on harder though." Asked if ski schools should teach basic mountain craft survival skills such as self arresting, Mr Ayres said it would be great if ski schools taught such skills. He said it would take a very small part of a lesson. He said there are courses available in mountain craft, such as avalanche awareness courses. Groups such as Outdoor Pursuits Centre and Plateau Guides run such courses. Regarding off trail

skiing he said the individual has to be responsible for his own actions but encouraging people to develop skills so they can make their own judgement would be a good thing. Asked about the idea of ski patrollers running short clinics on the ski fields on basic mountain craft, Mr Ayres said "it would be brilliant if any downtime for patrollers could be used for mountain craft clinics. I'm sure the companies would gain a lot of kudos for it."