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.

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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.”

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