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From The Sunday Times

March 9, 2008

Call in snow cops, says top UK skier

British skier Konrad Bartelski (on left)

Chris Haslam

Following a succession of high-profile skiing accidents in the past few weeks, Konrad Bartelski, Britain’s most successful World Cup downhill racer, has called for US-style piste police to patrol the slopes of Europe’s overcrowded ski resorts.

“The pistes have turned into motorways,” Bartelski says. “The quality of piste preparation and the standard of equipment, such as short carving skis, is now so high that weak skiers with little experience can easily be going at 30mph before they know it.

“People should ski within their ability. We need ski patrols, like they have in America. This is something Europe needs to consider.”

European ski resorts have balked at policing the slopes, unlike transatlantic resorts such as Whistler and Vail, where ski patrols are empowered to confiscate lift passes from offenders.

Five Britons are among more than 30 who have died in ski or avalanche accidents since the beginning of the year, with most fatalities occurring off piste. Off-piste accidents, however, are dwarfed by the number of incidents on prepared slopes, according to figures published by Médecins de Montagne. Last season, more than 14,500 skiers were injured in high-speed collisions in French resorts.

Bartelski’s views met with a cool reaction in the Alps. “We don’t need the gendarmerie patrolling our slopes,” insisted Marc Ambrault, a French ski guide. “What we need is for people to ski more considerately, and the British and Spanish skiers are the worst. They think they are experts, they all drink too much and they won’t listen to the advice of those who live here all year round.”

Other safety measures are being considered. Speed traps are already operational on Swiss slopes, where authorities say doctors will treat about 70,000 injuries this season. No punishments are issued, but speed merchants are urged to limit speeds to 20mph, under the slogan: “Don’t confuse the slopes with the racetrack.”

Bartelski feels that firmer action is needed, arguing that for some British tourists, skiing has become the Alpine equivalent of binge drinking. “They arrive on the mountain, see blue skies and perfect snow, and go wild,” he says. “And the problem is, with the latest skis, a novice can be skiing on powder in 10 weeks, even though they won’t have the experience or the ability to go and play where the big boys play.

“There are too many incompetent skiers, on and off piste, who haven’t been properly trained. With hundreds of thousands of people crowding the slopes, accidents will happen.”

Call to account for travellers' carbon footprint

BRITAIN’S ENGINEERS have called on the government to make unnecessary travel as unacceptable as drink-driving by ordering airlines and railway companies to reveal the carbon footprint of every trip.

In a report published last week, the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) said details of the environmental cost of every journey should be printed on tickets to steer travellers away from planes and into trains.

“The real issue here is mind-set,” said Cliff Perry, vice-president of IMechE’s Railway Division. “Clear marking of tickets with accurate emission figures is a simple way to raise awareness of environmental costs, along with measures that do the same for road journeys.”

Beg to differ - Skier collisions are up in the US - due to high speed 6 pack lifts putting 3500 people per hr on the slopes and skiers flying down the hills in 40 mph collisions. The US is about to have its worst year for ski deaths ( if reported correctly) and the speed of skiers has become a huge issue in ski towns.

The us ski resorts are not doing enough to slow down the number of people and all for marketing -- Vail has said they
" groom more acres than anyone on the planet" which means more high speed collisions--

billy ryder, NYC, NY

Agreed. The whole European ski experience is appalling and they need to catch up with the more customer friendly resorts of North America. Marc Ambrault inhabits a different planet to me. Brits/Spanish are not the only people who go faster then their expertise allows. All Europeans do whether they have had a good lunch or not. Many are showing off to their friends. No one ever factors in what the skier (young or old, learner or experienced) is going to do in front of them.

Contrast that with North America where everyone is considerate of each other from skiing on the piste to standing in queues. They have grown up with ski patrols who whilst they do roam the mountain, are generally positioned at crunch points on the home runs at the end of the day where the mix of skiers is greatest as is the biggest chance of an accident. Europe may have invented skiing but it now lags far behind in terms of the customer experience. European ski resort managers have alot to learn.

Jem , Littlehampton, Sussex