Mountain Safety: The Ski Industry’s Key Role
Web SEO Writer
What role should the ski industry play in education, prevention and mountain safety? Hear from two key industry voices.
The Ski Industry’s Role – And Its Responsibilities
Mountain Safety: Everyone’s Responsibility
Year after year, backcountry skiing keeps growing worldwide, much to our delight. In Europe alone, there are now more than 3 million off-piste skiers and snowboarders.
Encouraging numbers, but there’s a flip side: ski accidents are piling up, and fatal incidents in the mountains have become a very real risk. Along with them comes a potential threat to our freedom to move in the mountains.
Faced with this reality, one thing is clear: mountain safety is everyone’s business.
Riders absolutely need to be trained in mountain risk. But the ski industry also has a role to play: it needs to build a real, structured approach to training and education for its customers. That means accepting a share of educational responsibility towards riders. Done right, skiing as a whole wins: safer riders, a stronger image for the sport, and more freedom preserved in the long run.
The Ski Industry and Its Responsibilities
A Societal Responsibility
When it comes to avalanche prevention and education, the ski industry has a major role to play. It holds a form of societal responsibility towards skiers and snowboarders, especially as not all of them have years of experience behind them.
Secretary General of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), Jérôme Pero, paints the current picture: “We’re seeing a democratisation of these activities. There’s a real sense that people want more access to nature and freedom. Unfortunately, this also means a less experienced, less educated, less prepared public.
This year, we’ve seen a lot of accidents, many avalanches, deaths and injuries, linked to off-piste skiing.”
Raising awareness among riders about accidents and avalanche risk is essential to shift mindsets and limit tragedies.
That requires adapted, high-quality training, encouraging riders to take more responsibility. And the ski industry, for its part, also has a word to say…
A Collective Responsibility
On the topic of mountain safety, Jérôme Pero emphasises the role of every stakeholder in winter sports: “Brands can’t replace the authorities managing the mountains, individual judgement, or the professionals on the ground who guide riders. But they do have a collective responsibility.
No one can handle this alone. We need to explain, orient and educate practitioners who think they can just go freeriding from one day to the next.
We now need to define this collective responsibility and create a coalition, an alliance between all mountain professionals, including equipment manufacturers. We must determine what role each can play in this alliance. The goal is that every rider is better trained, better prepared, and in the end, skis more safely.”
This idea of shared responsibility is essential if we want to keep off-piste skiing alive. And some brands are already taking this seriously, as is the case with HEAD…
Educating Riders: A Real Priority for HEAD
More Than Just Selling Gear: A Role as a Guide
Founded in 1950 in Baltimore, USA, and now based in Austria, HEAD is a major player in both skiing and tennis. Its Vice President, René Harrer, shared the initiatives already taken – or planned – by the brand to support and guide its customers:
“This can mean organising educational events, like on-snow clinics, workshops, or even a ‘Mountain Academy’ adapted to different levels.
We can also contribute by creating digital educational content: free online tutorials, safety webinars with athletes, downloadable training programs.”
HEAD is also looking at ways to build and activate its community, for example through film screenings, test days (demo days), and online forums.
All this while promoting sustainability and safety, in collaboration with organisations committed to mountain safety.
“Our partnership with WEMountain is already a first step in that direction,” says René Harrer.
A Clear Responsibility Towards Riders
Today, the ski industry has to step up for off-piste lovers. Remember: around 90% of avalanches (the number one danger for skiers) are triggered by the victim or someone in their group. It is therefore crucial that skiers and snowboarders upgrade their skills and, through proper training, become familiar with avalanche risk. To do that, the ski industry must either offer or at least support serious education and safety programs in the mountains.
René Harrer outlines, in his view, the key responsibilities of the ski industry towards riders:
- “Safety: provide reliable equipment and ensure safe environments in resorts.
- Education: pass on the skills and knowledge needed, especially regarding mountain safety and best practices.
- Environmental responsibility: protect mountain ecosystems through sustainable practices and concrete engagement.
- Inclusivity: make the sport more accessible and welcoming to a wider range of people.
- Community: support and nurture the culture and passion that define this sport“.
Properly framing off-piste skiing is now a major issue if we want to reduce avalanche victims. Unlike sports such as kitesurfing or scuba diving, skiers, especially off-piste, often venture out with no real avalanche training.
This increases risk in the mountains and raises questions about why such behaviours are still so common.
Mountain Safety: A Human, Economic and Environmental Issue
Reducing Ski Accidents and Their Consequences
During the 2024/2025 season, avalanches caused the deaths of 70 mountain enthusiasts in Europe (including 21 in France and 20 in Switzerland), according to the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS).
It’s a heavy toll. Ski accidents are unforgiving and can have devastating consequences. Avalanche risk must be approached with solid preparation upstream.
You simply cannot head into the mountains without:
- proper training,
- avalanche education,
- and real mountain safety skills.
Fatal Mountain Accidents: A Direct Hit to the Sector’s Image and Credibility
Each fatal accident in the mountains, beyond its impact on the victim’s loved ones, has a huge societal impact. Media coverage and social media amplification do not go unnoticed by the general public. The emotional impact is strong, especially when an avalanche is involved. Off-piste skiing can then be perceived as inherently dangerous, and its practitioners labelled as “irresponsible”.
The consequence? A damaged image for skiing and for the whole sector.
It is therefore essential to properly explain mountain risks to riders. And this responsibility falls on both brands and resorts. An industry that is clearly engaged in avalanche prevention will strengthen its credibility as well as improve mountain safety.
Off-Piste Skiing Also Impacts the Environment
Everyone must adopt responsible behaviour in the mountains, a playground that includes fragile natural areas. Wildlife (and flora) must be respected, especially in winter, a critical period for them. Travel methods and where we choose to go must be carefully considered. Don’t venture outside authorised or recommended areas.
A poorly trained skier or snowboarder does not only increase their own risk, they also increase their environmental impact.
Unsurprisingly, brands and resorts have a key role to play in spreading good practices. The ski industry therefore faces a double challenge: raising awareness about mountain safety, and responsible skiing.
What Future for the Ski Industry?
A Need to Commit Much More Deeply to Education and Prevention
The time has come for the ski industry to step up.
In the coming months and years, real reflection and action will be needed.
Otherwise, the bill could be very heavy…
The Vice President of HEAD summarises the situation clearly: “If the industry doesn’t take a more active role in education and prevention, it could face:
- More accidents: a rise in avoidable injuries and accidents, harming the sport’s image.
- Higher costs: increased legal liability, exploding insurance costs, and the risk of heavy government regulation.
- A negative perception: a sport seen as dangerous and elitist, discouraging new participants, especially from diverse backgrounds.
- Restricted access: irresponsible behaviour leading to limited access to off-piste and public terrain.
- Slower growth: a stagnant or shrinking participant base, threatening the sector’s long-term viability.”
Jérôme Pero shares a similar concern: “There’s a real reputational risk for the sector. Right now, people talk more about the negative aspects of winter sports (accidents, lack of snow) than the positives and the benefits.
If we do nothing, we risk ending up with a sector that seems to encourage risk, does nothing, and stands still.”
Will Mountain Freedom Be Restricted by Ski Accidents?
Another very real risk is tighter regulations if the situation doesn’t improve.
Some actors in the industry are already sounding the alarm. The FESI Secretary General warns: “The debate between freedom of practice and the human and economic cost of risky behaviour is a very serious topic. We must avoid stigmatisation, but we also need a certain level of responsibility. Society is less and less willing to pay for a culture of risk.”
Could the number of ski accidents and continued practice without proper avalanche training end up challenging our freedom to move in the mountains?
Will the relationship with mountain rescue services, already heavily mobilised, change in the future? A Cour des Comptes report published in February 2026 questions the free nature of mountain rescue in France. A worrying signal.
“There’s a risk of regulation if human, environmental and economic costs become too high, with public authorities deciding to regulate or restrict these practices. That’s exactly what we want to avoid. If we want to solve the problem, we need to look at how we can all act together, on education and everything we can do upstream,” says Jérôme Pero.
Avalanche training must therefore become a key lever, combined with greater responsibility from riders (who will know how to avoid getting caught in an avalanche) as well as from all actors in the ski industry.
WEMountain: A Concrete Answer to a Global Challenge
A Digital, Accessible, International Approach
Designed by 50 international experts, the WEMountain method has already convinced more than 5,000 members from 52 countries.
It is structured around several E-Learning courses (online) and T-Learning courses (on-snow). The training focuses 80% on prevention and avoidance, helping riders stay out of avalanche situations in the first place.
“WEMountain is a very good initiative. It’s a great idea to rely on stars, equipment manufacturers and all winter sports stakeholders to communicate and educate riders, without stigmatising them,”
says the Secretary General of FESI.
An Avalanche Education Program Already Adopted by the Industry
The international WEMountain mountain safety program is already supported by many key players in the ski industry.
Among them: the Freeride World Tour, IFSA, HEAD, Tecnica, Decathlon, Verbier 4 Vallées, Compagnie du Mont-Blanc and the Patrouille des Glaciers.
A clear recognition of WEMountain’s work as a major actor in mountain safety.
CONCLUSION – Taking Responsibility to Keep Skiing Off-Piste
To sum up, the ski industry and powder lovers share, more than ever, a real collective responsibility in shaping their own future.
Do we want a future with more regulations?
Do we accept the idea of our freedom being questioned?
Everyone needs to look in the mirror and ask the right questions. A real culture of mountain safety must emerge if we want to reduce ski accidents.
Learning how to use a beacon (DVA) is not enough, proper training is essential.
It can save lives in freeride. So don’t wait, get trained!
Discover other articles about the mountain
Podcast Ep.2 : Why gear alone isn’t enough: training before rescuing in the mountains
Training Young Riders: Safety for Everyone
Mountain Training: Why Learning Is Essential
How to Succeed on the Legendary Zermatt–Verbier Course
Podcast Ep.4 : The future of freeride: train better to save more lives
