Two deaths on ski hills in Quebec this month are putting a renewed focus on safety at Canadian slopes this season.
A man and a teenager died within the span of a week on separate ski hills in the Laurentian mountains recently.
While the circumstances around their deaths remain unclear, these cases serve as a reminder of the risks of snow sports and the need for safety, said Paul Pinchbeck, president and CEO of the Canadian Ski Council.
“There’s no doubt that with the start of winter happening over the last week or 10 days across Canada, there’s quite a bit of what we call pent-up demand within the snow sports industry,” he told Global News.
“People want to get out and ski and snowboard. I would say that the biggest thing we can all do is remember that, safety on the hills and on the lift is a shared responsibility.”
‘Safety is a joint responsibility’
The two people who died were a 70-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy.
On Jan. 12, the 15-year-old boy died after falling off a chairlift at Morin Heights. On Tuesday, the 70-year-old man suffered serious injuries when he fell at the end of his run at Versant Avila. He later died in hospital.
Local police have said there were seemingly no criminal elements in either death.
It’s not clear what exactly happened in the moments before these incidents, but participating in winter sports comes with what Pinchbeck calls “informed risks.”
“We’d say that safety on the hill is our top priority, and that safety is a joint responsibility,” he said.
“Nobody likes to see accidents in any sport and, or just in daily life, but having individuals take personal responsibility for their safety and the safety of people around them is paramount to enjoying your day on the slopes.”
Accidents are not uncommon on the slopes. Yves Juneau, CEO of the Association of Quebec Ski Areas, told Global News this week there are usually one or two fatal accidents per ski season in Quebec.
Coincidentally, Juneau’s association just launched a new skiing safety campaign on Monday.
Some top pieces of advice on the campaign’s pamphlet: know your limits, stay in control, and never ride on a hill with a difficulty rating above your skill level.
“They go faster than what they can control,” Juneau said.
It’s not a race to see if you can get to the bottom of the hill the quickest, Pinchbeck added.
“The opportunity to stay in control gives you leads to turning, leads to speed control, leads to a general ability to avoid another skier or snowboarder who makes an unanticipated turn,” he said.
How to stay safe on a ski lift
Awareness is key when it comes to staying safe on ski lifts, Pinchbeck said.
Every province has an authority that regulates and inspects ski lifts. In Ontario, it is the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA). When it comes to chairlifts, the TSSA advises users to “look, load and lower.”
“When someone arrives at the bottom terminal for any type of lift, the idea is to be aware of your situation. You’re looking, you’re making sure that you’re cognizant of everything around you, that you’re ready to ride the lift,” Pinchbeck said.
“Then there’s the loading: we have people who are helping you get on those lifts. You ski, or slide up if you’re a snowboarder, to a particular spot — the red line as it’s often called — and then you sit down on the chair, all the while being very aware of your situation.”
Once it’s time to get off, you have to lower the safety bar. The TSSA advises you let the other riders on the chair know that you’re lowering the bar to avoid any head collisions.
“The safety bar is your seatbelt when you’re on the lift. It functions in a similar fashion. Should we have to make an emergency stop, should there be a gust of wind, we would rely on that safety bar to keep our patrons on the chair and keep them as safe as possible,” Pinchbeck said.
Juneau said too many people remove the safety bar too early, which leads to accidents.
“You’re supposed to lift it at the last pole of the lift, and that way you’ll be safe,” he said.
With ski and snowboard season well underway, Pinchbeck hopes Canadians keep best practices in mind.
“Skiing and snowboarding are so much fun that we tend to get carried away chatting and laughing and giggling, but these are very serious times — loading and unloading the lift,” he said.
“It’s still a fun thing to gab with your friends and to have some laughs, but let’s do it without twisting around and fooling around on lifts.”
— with files from Global News’ Dan Spector