Key Takeaways

• Proper clothing, layering, and protective gear are essential for staying safe in cold mountain conditions.
• Helmets, goggles, and visibility aids significantly reduce the risk of serious injury on the slopes.
• Skiers should always choose trails that match their skill level and current conditions.
• Weather, visibility, and fatigue can quickly change how difficult a trail feels on any given day.
• Following the NSAA Responsibility Code helps prevent collisions and keeps all skiers safer.

Hampton Luzak is a Jackson Hole, Wyoming resident whose professional background spans media, advertising, film production, and historical home restoration. Her early career included client relations and marketing work with fashion and design firms, followed by on-air reporting and producing roles at MSNBC. She later worked in independent film as a casting director on award-recognized projects before redirecting her creative focus toward restoring historic residences from the late 1700s.

Outside of her professional pursuits, Hampton Luzak is an avid participant in alpine and Nordic skiing, hiking, and snowshoeing in Wyoming, experiences that provide firsthand familiarity with mountain environments and winter conditions. Her long-standing engagement with outdoor recreation, combined with an understanding of environmental risk and preparation, offers relevant context for discussions about skiing safety. She is also active in philanthropic efforts supporting animal welfare, education initiatives, and environmental conservation, reflecting a broader commitment to responsible and informed engagement with both people and place.

How to Stay Safe While Skiing

Skiing is a popular winter activity in the United States. According to the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), ski resorts and other ski areas welcomed more than 60 million visitors during the 2023-2024 season, a figure that increased to about 61.5 million in 2024-2025. While skiing can provide participants with a thrilling and highly social outdoor activity, the athletic nature of the sport and cold temperatures combine to pose significant health threats. Skiers should follow several guidelines to ensure their safety.

To begin, skiers need to dress with health and safety in mind. In addition to dressing for a day on the mountain, individuals should be aware that an accident or injury can leave them stranded on a trail in freezing temperatures. With this in mind, skiers should dress in layers. Important items include a base layer, such as long underwear, as well as a light fleece and a ski or snowboard jacket. Additional clothing should include wool socks, pants, gloves, and some form of neckwear, such as a gaiter or balaclava.

Skiers should also wear goggles and, perhaps most importantly, a properly fitted helmet. On particularly cold days, individuals should consider augmenting their attire with handwarmers and footwarmers. Additionally, skiers hitting the mountain early in the day or around dusk should invest in brightly colored clothing or clothing with Recco reflectors. These reflectors help a skier stand out to other people on the trail, including ski patrollers and rescue teams.

Skiers also need to understand and stick to their personal limits. Skiing is a fun group activity, but some individuals are more skilled and experienced than others. A person should only take on trails that meet their skill level. Most skiers are familiar with trail difficulty ratings: green circle trails are for beginners, blue square trails are for intermediate skiers, and black diamond trails are for experts. Only highly experienced skiers should attempt double black diamond trails. An orange rectangle, meanwhile, indicates a terrain park with jumps, grind rails, and other unique challenges.

Skiers must consider several additional factors. For instance, weather conditions, slope conditions, and visibility conditions can all increase a trail’s challenge rating at any given time, as can a skier’s level of exhaustion following a long day on the mountain. Furthermore, difficulty ratings are both subjective and, more importantly, regional. In other words, a blue square trail on one mountain may rank as a black diamond on another mountain and a green circle elsewhere.

It is up to each skier to assess their capabilities and avoid pushing themselves too hard. Otherwise, they risk injury to themselves and other people on the mountain.

Finally, people can optimize their safety while skiing by adhering to the NSAA Responsibility Code, which outlines important points of etiquette and behavior while at a ski resort or area. Many key elements of the Responsibility Code describe right-of-way rules for skiers. Generally speaking, individuals further down the slope maintain right-of-way, as they cannot safely look back over their shoulders, meaning uphill skiers need to maintain a safe speed and navigate around downhill skiers as needed.

The only exception to this rule involves joining a slope from off the trail. In this situation, skiers approaching a marked trail need to monitor for both uphill and downhill skiers, waiting for a safe moment to join the trail. Similarly, individuals should never stop in the middle of a trail or on the side of the trail in a place where other riders cannot see them. Instead, they should stop in a secluded but visible location.

The Responsibility Code also encourages skiers to adhere to all posted signs, avoid closed trails, and learn how to safely load, ride, and unload from ski lifts. Whenever possible, skiers should also prevent runaway equipment.

FAQs

Why is layering important when skiing?

Layering helps skiers stay warm, dry, and adaptable to changing weather and activity levels. It also provides critical protection if someone becomes injured and has to wait in cold conditions.

Why should skiers always wear a helmet?

A properly fitted helmet greatly reduces the risk of head injury during falls or collisions. It is one of the most important safety tools a skier can use on the mountain.

How should skiers choose the right trail?

Skiers should select trails that match their experience level and comfort with speed and terrain. Trail ratings can vary by resort, so personal judgment and caution are always necessary.

What does the NSAA Responsibility Code require?

The code outlines right-of-way rules, safe behavior, and respect for posted signs and closures. Following it helps reduce accidents and keeps traffic flowing safely on the slopes.

Why is visibility and awareness on the slope so important?

Good visibility and situational awareness help skiers avoid collisions and dangerous stops in blind spots. Being aware of others is just as important as controlling your own speed.

About Hampton Luzak

Hampton Luzak is an entrepreneur and creative professional based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with experience in media production, advertising, fashion marketing, and independent film. Her career includes on-air reporting and producing at MSNBC, casting work for independent feature films, and marketing roles with design-focused companies.

She currently focuses on restoring and renovating historical homes, drawing on a strong interest in American history and preservation. In addition to her professional work, she is active in winter sports and outdoor recreation and supports philanthropic efforts related to animal welfare, education, and environmental conservation.