Alpine skiing and snowboarding have recently been gaining more and more popularity, and some ski resorts in Russia have come close to the service of famous European ones. However, new skiers often return home with injuries, unplanned expenses or bad moods due to a sudden illness spoiling their vacation. On the one hand, it is impossible to master winter sports without difficulty and a couple of bumps, but on the other hand, it is quite possible to protect yourself from obvious threats to health and wallet.
We have compiled a list of the dangers that can ruin your winter holiday and told you how to avoid them.
Inventory
You will be surprised how often new skiers choose and adjust their sports equipment incorrectly. Meanwhile, poorly fitted and not properly secured skis and boots have already caused many injuries on the slope.
What to do? Don't go to the car rental yourself if you are a beginner. Read the theory on the Internet, and ideally bring an experienced instructor with you to help you select, adjust equipment and show you how to handle clips and fasteners.
Lift
Despite the apparent convenience, lifts are fraught with dangers. Improper seating and getting off the lift can lead to a wide variety of injuries and fractures. In some ski resorts, staff help skiers and snowboarders get into the lift and explain the basic rules of conduct. In fact, there is nothing complicated there - the main thing is to observe safety precautions and not to miss the landing zone.
What to do? Get detailed instructions, watch and remember how experienced skiers get on and off the lift. It is better to ride the slope with more experienced friends for the first time.
Track
The most important rule when choosing a track is to focus on the level of difficulty and your capabilities. The tracks have markings: the simplest and gentlest are marked in green. Blue trails are a little more difficult, but also suitable for beginners. Experienced skiers are already skiing on the red slopes, and only skiers of a professional level or with many years of experience are allowed on the black ones. But you need to pay attention not only to the marking, but also to the condition of the tracks, the number of people, the quality of the snow - all this affects the level of danger of skiing.
What to do? Again, it is better to listen to the instructor's advice and choose the simplest and most gentle slope for a start. Entry-level slopes are usually quite crowded, so try to stay away from the crowds and not gain too much speed. Look out for warning signs: Danger, Slow down, Boulders, Cliffs, Closed.
Collisions
Colliding with various obstacles on a slope is one of the main causes of falls. Most often, other skiers turn out to be this obstacle, less often Christmas trees. It is advisable to go around Christmas trees a few meters away and generally stay away from them. With skiers, everything is more unpredictable. Many resorts have intersecting tracks, and the skier in front of you can brake or fall sharply, which is likely to lead to a collision.
What to do? Keep your ears open and stay on the slope as attentive and collected as possible. Some even recommend giving up the player at first - after all, music reduces attentiveness. Collisions with other skiers are a common problem, which is why insurance companies have increasingly included “third party liability” in their ski packages. That is, if you bump into someone on a slope and - God forbid - harm the health of another person, the insurance will cover it. This option is available, for example, in the Winter Sport package from INTOUCH.
Theft
Alas, even in the most fashionable and respectable ski resorts, theft of equipment is far from uncommon. If you have any idea how much skis, poles, snowboards and all related equipment cost, you probably won't be happy if they suddenly disappear.
What to do? First, never leave your equipment unattended. Second, again, look for ski insurance programs that include equipment theft insurance.
Sudden illness or injury
If you come from the city to the mountains, you probably felt that the air here is much colder than the one you are used to. Nevertheless, many go for a drive from the very first day. Often this ends with the person being mowed down by a cold, and he spends the rest of the vacation days in a hotel with a temperature.
The same story with injuries - if you ask around the familiar skiers, almost everyone will be able to recall the case of how "Mitya came to the slope, broke his arm on the very first day and lay in bed while the others skated and had fun." In this case, no one will return the money spent on equipment rental, purchase of pass passes and payment of a snowboard school.
What to do? First, take care of yourself and do not break on the slope on the very first day - let your body get used to the local climate. Secondly, at the very beginning of the rest, there is no need for feats and stunt tricks - in this case, injuries are almost guaranteed. To insure your wallet against losses in case of illness or injury, pay attention to insurance packages that will not only help you get quality medical care, but also compensate for the costs of those services that you could not use.
Bad weather
Sometimes the weather spoils all your plans. You have arrived at a resort and all trails are closed due to bad weather conditions. Or, even worse, on the first day everything was perfect, you paid for a ski pass and rented equipment, and tomorrow the slopes were closed.
What to do? Obviously, study the weather forecast in advance. Although, you yourself know that long-term forecasts do not guarantee anything. And in order not to get into trouble with expenses due to the closure of the slopes, carefully study the offers of insurance companies - some offer compensation in case your plans to spend the weekend on the slope are spoiled by bad weather.
