Safety Policy
How we keep people safe on our programs, and what we ask of you.
What we ask of every participant
- Wear a helmet. This is not optional on any of our programs.
- Sign your waiver before the program, not on the morning.
- Buy and carry uphill access, a ticket or a season pass, where the mountain requires it. See uphill policies.
- Follow Your Responsibility Code, the national skier and rider safety code.
- Stay on the designated uphill route, single file, to the side, and yield to everything coming downhill. See how to behave on a skin track.
- Stay off closed trails and out of closed areas, always. A closed trail at a resort often means winch cats operating on a cable you cannot see.
- Tell a volunteer if you are struggling, cold, or need to turn around. Nobody has to explain themselves and nobody skis down alone.
- Descend within your ability. You must be able to descend a blue square trail on our on-resort programs and black diamond terrain on our backcountry programs.
What we do
- Our backcountry programs are led by professional guides. Our on-resort programs are led by trained volunteers, briefed before the season and again on the morning.
- We run a no-drop policy. The group moves at the pace of the slowest person and regroups together.
- Our on-resort programs use approved uphill routes and follow each resort's own uphill policy.
- Our Intro to Backcountry programs are routed deliberately to stay out of avalanche terrain.
- We check gear at check-in and help anyone who is not sure their setup is right.
- Weather calls are made the evening before, and we cancel and refund in full rather than run a day we are not comfortable with.
What we do not do
We are not downhill ski instructors. We teach uphill travel. You ski and ride downhill under your own control and at your own risk, which is why every program page states an ability requirement.
Our Intro programs are not avalanche courses. They do not enter avalanche terrain and they do not require you to carry a beacon, shovel and probe. If you want avalanche education, that is a separate thing and we point you at it plainly on our avalanche education page.
Animals
Dogs are not permitted on our programs, for the safety of participants, other mountain users and the animals themselves, and because most of the resorts we work with do not permit dogs on the uphill route.
Service animals as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act are a separate matter from pets. If you use a service animal, contact us before the program at info@inclusiveskitouring.org and we will work out the arrangements with you and with the mountain.
If something goes wrong
On resort, the mountain's ski patrol is the emergency response and any volunteer can summon them. In the backcountry, your guides carry a first aid kit and a communication device and are trained in wilderness first response.
Report any injury or near miss to the volunteer or guide leading your group on the day, even if it seems minor. We record incidents and near misses and review them, which is how a policy stays a real document rather than a page on a website.
Equipment
You are responsible for your equipment being in working order and correctly adjusted, whether it is yours, rented, or borrowed from us. If you are not sure, ask at check-in. That is what check-in is for and nobody will think less of you for asking. See rentals and sizing.