Training Young Riders: Safety for Everyone
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Training young riders: essential to help young talents progress safely and reach their goals. Discover our key insights!
Training Young Riders: Preparing the Next Generation
Let’s be clear: real freedom in the mountains only exists if it’s backed by solid training. Every winter, the numbers of off-piste and ski touring accidents are chilling.
Young riders are technically incredible. Bold. Creative.
But they’re sometimes lacking in terrain knowledge.
If they want to keep skiing for a long time, they need to be able to adjust how they approach their sport. Training young riders is the key to safer days in the mountains and essential if they want to reach their full potential.
Without this, the freedom to ride as we know it could very well be called into question…
A brilliant new generation… with a mountain culture that needs work
Young riders sending hard, very early
There’s no doubt: the technical level of young riders keeps going up, year after year. They’re coached by professionals, binge-watch videos from the best athletes, and constantly push themselves in freeride competitions.
French State-certified ski instructor, technical delegate on Freeride World Tour events in France and abroad, Brice Lamon sees this evolution every day: “You can clearly see how huge the level is among juniors. At a competition in Les Arcs, I realized that the U16 men on skis were actually stronger than the U18s. Their runs look professional, and the range of tricks they throw down is just mind-blowing,”
says Brice, who is also a senior judge on FWT events.
The real gap: terrain knowledge and human factors
Freeride coach at Freeski Belleville (Les Menuires / Val Thorens), Kevin Guri points straight to a harsh reality: “The technical level has exploded. But technical skill doesn’t protect you from avalanche risk.
The main causes are:
- Poor understanding of nivo-meteo (snow + weather) conditions
- Lack of knowledge of avalanche trigger mechanisms
- Group effect
- Performance pressure
Sometimes there’s a big gap between ski level and risk awareness,” notes the former Freeride World Tour rider.
Freeski Belleville
Created in 2011, Freeski Belleville aims to bring out new freestyle and freeride talents. Kevin explains his daily work: “We help young riders progress both technically and tactically in freeride. That includes face reading, line choice, speed management, run strategy. We also put a strong focus on safety: analyzing conditions, group management, anticipating risk.”A complete approach and hugely beneficial for young riders.
WEMountain training: a powerful ally for mountain safety
A support system for young, still-inexperienced riders
No matter how good they are technically, young riders are, by definition, lacking in experience. In France, they’re often coached and supervised by people who do teach them about mountain safety, a crucial transfer of knowledge, and one that goes way beyond the beacon/probe/shovel trio.
“Knowing the warning signs (snowpack overload, slope angle, warming, etc.) gives a good base. Good behaviour comes later, with experience and training.
The mistake is thinking ‘safety’ means having a beacon/probe / shovel.
We need to make young people understand that gear will not stop avalanches,”
insists Brice Lamon.
He has a very concrete example to illustrate how vital training is for young riders: “I’m an instructor for the FWT Academy in China. One day, with avalanche risk 4/5, my students wanted to go into a steep slope. I told them we weren’t going there. An hour later, there was an accident and one person died. My students then told me that if I had been taken in an avalanche, they would never have been able to find me. That’s how essential proper training is.”
WEMountain training: a direct response to real needs
With 80% of its focus on avoidance and prevention, the WEMountain method is perfectly aligned with what young riders actually need from training. Fun, educational, and designed by 50 international experts, it helps riders really build their knowledge.
WEMountain training starts at home, with e-learning courses. Riders access an intuitive, innovative digital platform where they can learn the theory and key fundamentals at their own pace. Learning starts in the living room, before even stepping into ski boots. Digital becomes a springboard to the mountains, helping young riders arrive on snow already better prepared, more alert to their environment and more aware of mountain risks.
Brice Lamon, a WEMountain Safety Angel (ambassador), strongly supports this training: “The WEMountain philosophy is to avoid accidents in the first place (AVOID). Some marketing does harm to mountain safety by putting all the focus on rescue gear. But if you’ve already pulled out the shovel, you’ve already lost,” says the ski instructor.
Kevin Guri is also convinced by the WEMountain approach: “Thanks to this training, young riders get to know themselves better and understand how the snowpack works. They learn to spot terrain traps and become aware of cognitive biases.”
Training young riders clearly appears as a must‑have if we want to reduce the number of accidents, still far too high in the mountains.
Off-piste & ski touring accidents: what training can really change
How many accidents could be avoided?
According to European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS), the 2024/2025 season caused the death of 70 mountain lovers in Europe (including 21 in France and 20 in Switzerland).
In France, ANENA data shows:
- 126 avalanche-related accidents were recorded between October 2024 and September 2025
- 190 people were caught in avalanches while practising their activity (skiing, snowboarding, ski touring, snowshoeing)
Unlike fatal avalanches, there are no centralised European statistics for non-fatal avalanche accidents.
In France, during the 2023/2024 season there were:
- 53,559 mountain rescue interventions
- 51,951 injured people
On 18 February 2026, the mayor of La Clusaz even issued, for the first time, an order banning off-piste skiing in his municipality. The avalanche risk was then 5/5 across the entire Aravis range.
What changes after avalanche training
With proper training, a young rider’s skill set improves dramatically:
- They develop real avalanche knowledge, and know how to avoid them
- They understand human factors
- They learn to assess risk
- They can better manage the “group effect”, a major issue in the mountains
All of this has a direct impact on their decision-making in the mountains and on their ability to turn back before a dangerous line.
“Avalanche training has to start as soon as you go off‑piste, whatever your level. Training helps some young riders evolve in how they ride. They check the avalanche bulletin, analyse aspect and altitude, and talk together before committing.
They’re still riding and having fun, but with awareness of the risks and by making better decisions,”
appreciates Kevin Guri.
Avalanche training for young riders looks very much like one of the keys to safer mountains. Brice Lamon is convinced: “Training opens young riders’ eyes to what can actually happen in the mountains. It plants a seed of doubt and can stop them from dropping into a steep slope when they sense danger. I see it all the time with the young people I coach.”
And the need for training is even greater now that free mountain rescue is being questioned in France…
Free mountain rescue: a model under pressure
In France, each mountain rescue mission costs, on average, over €10,000 to the community.
According to a Cour des comptes report published in February 2026, the cost of mountain rescue in France reached €107 million in 2024.
These figures have led the Cour des comptes to recommend considering partial or full billing of rescues by 2028. The institution also calls for tougher sanctions against behaviour deemed irresponsible.
In Italy, a serious accident caused by recklessness in the mountains can lead to criminal charges (injury, involuntary manslaughter).
Rescues can also be billed if negligence is proven.
Freedom in the mountains still exists but it now comes with very real legal responsibility.
New generation: time to take back control
Taking responsibility to avoid bans
As riders, it’s urgent we take responsibility. If we don’t, States and lawmakers will do it for us. Young riders need to be at the forefront of a new dynamic. By taking responsibility individually, being educated and trained, they can pull the rest of the mountain community in the right direction. Brice Lamon is very clear on this: “My main mission in every faraway destination with the FWT is to build a community of exemplary, responsible freeriders. That might be what saves us from outright bans. I fight for that in Georgia and in China, by running training sessions.”
Same view from Kevin Guri, whose goal at Freeski Belleville is: “to train riders who are both high‑performing and responsible.” For Kevin, if young riders don’t step up, “we risk more avalanche accidents. And behind that, more restrictions, more regulations, even zone closures. Individual responsibility is also a way to protect our collective freedom.”
Training young riders: essential to change the game
As we’ve seen, the WEMountain program is perfectly suited to training young riders. Kevin Guri, coach at Freeski Belleville, sums it up well: “The WEMountain e-learning gives you a solid base on how avalanches work and how decisions are made. And when you get on snow, you can confront that theory with the real world. It’s that combo that really changes behaviour, not just piling up information.”
Brice Lamon has a direct message for the new generation: “Don’t wait for an avalanche to happen before you train! WEMountain training is a precious safeguard, it will help you to turn back, to walk away and to save your own life.”
Kevin Guri also has a message for young riders: “Push yourself, progress, raise the level… but take avalanche risk seriously and get properly trained. The mountain doesn’t reward recklessness. True performance is about lasting.”
CONCLUSION – Training: the key to riding safely
Mountain culture doesn’t improvise itself. It’s learned. It’s passed on.
Building real terrain knowledge as a young rider is not a constraint, it’s the key to riding long and free.
Training significantly increases safety in the mountains.
Zero risk doesn’t exist, don’t neglect yourself.
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