January brings the ski industry's annual "National Safety Awareness Week" but common sense tips on ski safety and safe riding are valuable all season long.

Skiing can be quite an exhilarating experience but as with any sport, safety should come first. Did you know that, fortunately, the majority of all ski and snowboard injuries are minor? According to the Loyola University Medical Center Injury Prevention Program, approximately half of all snowsports injuries involve a stationary object (i.e. trees). In fact, while there are nearly three medically significant injuries per 1,000 skier visits, your chances of being seriously injured or dying on the slopes is less than one in a million.

But the 2009 death of actress Natasha Richardson from a head injury during a Mont-Tremblant ski class shone a spotlight on critical snowsports injuries. According to the industry group, National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), nationally, 49% of skiers and snowboarders are part of a family with children at home. Of these, 34% are parents with kids who enjoy the sport, and 14% are the kids themselves, snowsports lovers under age 17.  With demographics like that, we know many parents have questions about ski and snowboard safety. That's why the industry tries so hard to teach us all.

Celebrating Ski Safety & Making Caution Cool

Each January (January 15-23, 2011), ski resorts around the United States celebrate National Safety Awareness Week, during which Ski Area Safety Awards are given to resorts that are most effective and creative in communicating "slope safety" messages to visitors. While resorts in New Hampshire might concentrate on poster competitions in which students are rewarded for designing the most effective safety message for their peers, some of the resorts around Lake Tahoe will give Avalanche Awareness clinics where young and old alike learn safety and rescue techniques.

Some resorts will even highlight slope safety by posting Ski Patrol officers with radar guns at busy slope intersections to monitor the speed of those skiing and snowboarding.

Resorts in Vermont rise to the occasion with special events and activities. During National Safety Awareness Week, Okemo Mountain Resort -- Parents magazine's top family resort of 2009 -- offers fun games and activities to teach safety ideals, and places mountain ambassadors at atrategic trail intersections throughout the resort to assist and direct guests. Additionally, they are introducing a Terrain Park Pass that requires skiers and riders to know some basic rules about park safety and etiquette before accessing Okemo's premier Super Park on Nor'easter. Mountain guests can take the quiz online or on property, then be issued a pass that must be worn outside their jackets while using the terrain park.

In a similar spirit of safety, Stratton Mountain is enforcing rules for guests who wish to use the mountain’s No. 1-ranked terrain parks. Skiers and boarders must take part in a Safety Education Session, which includes a short video and Q & A period. Stratton offers it all season long throughout the day, and then guests are free to enjoy the five terrain parks, which cover 45 acres and include a Superpipe. At the Burton Kids Parkway, a stoplight has been installed at the top of each feature with instructions that kids must read before pushing a button to get a green go-ahead light.

The NSAA Ski Safety Week is a great time to learn more about current safety techniques and try them out. Manyy resorts offer discounted lift tickets, run ski and ride equipment sales for guests, and invite representatives from safety and injury protection companies to demonstrate the latest gear. Some safety items such as helmets -- a critical component especially for kids -- can be tested free of charge.

Helmet Awareness

Just a few years ago, top resorts such as Aspen/Snowmass, a leader in children's ski and ride programs, decided to require helmets on all students under 12-years-old. What a sensation that caused! A recent NSAA survey found that more than 57% of guests at their member resorts wore helmets during the 2009/2010 season. Although recent legislation mandating helmet use for skiers and riders under 18 failed in the state of California, New Jersey is aggressively promoting a similar bill.

According to their studies, helmet use is critical to safety. A helmet can make a difference in reducing or preventing injury. Helmets are designed to reduce the severity of head injuries, but they are most effective at providing protection at speeds of 12 mph or slower. If you hit a tree, object or another skier at moderate or high speed, a helmet may not prevent or reduce a serious injury.

In Vermont, the northeast state with the greatest number of mountain resorts, the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, a partnership of Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont College of Medicine, visits local resorts to help educate skiers and riders about helmet use with posters, brochures, an exhibit, stickers and prizes. The program is non-coercive and is designed to promote both helmet use and skiing and snowboarding as a healthy lifestyle.

At some "Stone Age" resorts that fear promoting helmet use will scare away potential customers, skiers and riders are at least provided information on their effectiveness and given free choice in the matter. And there is widespread availability of rental helmets, an almost unheard of option only a few years ago. The Ski Helmet Safety website is a great resource, but parents should remember that no helmet will totally protect those moving faster than about 12mph.

A Simple Safety Message for Skiers & Riders

Encouraging general safety awareness by changing behaviors is the idea behind the formation of the "heads up" campaign, an industry-wide safety program led by the National Ski Areas Association. The campaign urges skiers to act responsibly and sometimes penalizes those who fail to follow safety rules.

• ≥  Fast and reckless skiing will not be tolerated.
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• ≥  Skiers should use clearly marked and familiar trails and never ever overestimate their skills.
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Although most ski injuries can be attributed to skier error -- not equipment failure -- we were surprised to learn that the death rate of snowboarders is 40% lower than that of alpine skiers. In fact, snowboarders are more likely to be hit by out-of-control skiers than the other way around. Snowboarders get their own safety messages at terrain parks thanks to "Smart Style," a safety initiative in North America that is being promoted by the NSAA and Burton Boards. Rather than use the existing Green, Blue and Black symbols for marking freestyle terrain, a new orange oval symbol is used.

Smart Style promotes that riders fully understand the feature and the prevailing conditions before attempting any maneuver. This means that persons using freestyle terrain need to examine all features before use and satisfy themselves that they have the knowledge, skills and ability to attempt the feature. Their tips:

1. MAKE A PLAN Every time you use freestyle terrain, make a plan for each feature you want to use. Your speed, approach and take off will directly affect your maneuver and landing.
2. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP Scope around the jumps first, not over them. Know your landings are clear and clear yourself out of the landing area.
3. EASY STYLE IT Start small and work your way up. (Inverted aerials not recommended).
4. RESPECT GETS RESPECT From the lift line through the park.

Alpine Responsibility Code

The more comprehensive Alpine Resonsibility Code (below) is the long time standard in this field, and still a valuable behavior guide all throughout the ski season. At some resorts, its 10 principles are painted on individual chairlift support poles so that everyone relaxing on their way back uphill will have plenty of time to get the message. In the ever-evolving snowsports industry, you'll see this message repeated in any number of engaging ways in a ongoing effort to make the sport safer.

Regardless of how you enjoy your snow sport, always show courtesy to others and be aware that there are inherent risks in all snow recreational activities that common sense and personal awareness can reduce. These risks include rapid changes in the weather, visibility and surface conditions, as well as natural and artificial hazards such as, rocks, trees, stumps, vehicles, lift towers, snow fences and snowmaking equipment.

Observe the code and share with others the responsibility for a great experience.

1. ** Know your ability and always stay in control and be able to stop and avoid other people or objects. It is your responsibility to stay in control on the ground and in the air.
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3. ** Take lessons from qualified professional instructors, to learn and progress.
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5. ** As you proceed downhill or overtake another person, you must avoid the people below and beside you.
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7. ** Do not stop where you obstruct a trail or run, or are not visible from above.
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9. ** When entering a trail or run or starting downhill, look uphill and give way to others.
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11. ** When riding chairlifts always use the restraining devices. Always use suitable restraints to avoid runaway skiing/boarding equipment. Ensure your equipment is in good condition.
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13. ** Observe and obey all signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails or runs and out of closed areas.
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15. ** Before using any lift you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safety.
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17. ** Do not ski, board, ride a lift or undertake any other alpine activity if your ability is impaired by drugs or alcohol.
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19. ** If you are involved in, or witness an accident or collision, alert Ski Patrol, remain at the scene and identify yourself to the Ski Patrol.
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Know the Code. It's Your Responsibility.

A Parents Responsibility - Code or No Code

Keep in mind that many ski safety groups feel that sending a message isn't enough to ensure safety, especially among younger snowsports enthusiasts.

According to the California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization (CSSSO), a non-profit based in San Francisco, resorts are not mandated to produce standardized safety plans or required to make their plans readily available for public view, and they should be. "Under their lease agreements, ski resorts operating on federal lands, which constitute the majority of ski resorts in California, are required by the U.S. Forest Service to have an annual and updated ski safety plan in place," says Dan Gregorie M.D., president and founder of CSSSO.

CSSSO argues that being able to review a published safety plan can help parents and other adults better understand safety issues at resorts they frequent. "While the Forest Service has contractual authority to enforce safety improvements on land leased by ski resorts, the agency takes a hands-off approach to regulating ski safety, leaving the resorts to vary widely in their plans, policies and procedures as well as documented compliance with them."

Which leaves parents in the position they're usually in, hoping to educate their kids enough so that they can learn to be responsible for themselves.