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This page explains what governing bodies, standards bodies and safety bodies publish. It is not a substitute for lessons from a qualified instructor, avalanche training or medical advice.
The codes below are reported as documents: what each body published, when, and what its rules cover. They are not a lesson, and an injury in a collision needs medical care. The full paraphrased text of both codes is on the codes of conduct.
The FIS Code of Conduct for Skiers and Snowboarders
FIS's ten rules were approved by the FIS Congress in 2002; a copy marked "version 2016" survives, and FIS's current file, titled "FIS Code of Conduct for Skiers and Snowboarders", was created on 24 August 2023 and prints no edition. The 2023 wording is gender-neutral; the substance of the ten rules is the same as in 2016. FIS's 2016 comments call the rules an ideal pattern of conduct aimed at avoiding accidents, say they are guidance that does not replace a ski area's own rules, and say that failing to respect them could expose a person to civil and criminal liability after an accident.
The ten rules are headed: respect for others; control of speed and manner of skiing or snowboarding; choice of route; overtaking; entering, starting and moving upwards; stopping on the piste; climbing and descending on foot; respect for signs and markings; assistance; and identification. Four of them bear directly on collisions:
- Rule 2, control. A skier or snowboarder must move in control, adapting speed and manner to personal ability, terrain, snow, weather and the density of traffic.
- Rule 3, choice of route. The duty falls on the person coming from behind to choose a route that does not endanger those ahead.
- Rule 9, assistance. Everyone is duty bound to assist at accidents. This site records the rule only; it gives no first aid.
- Rule 10, identification. Everyone involved in an accident, and every witness, responsible or not, must exchange names and addresses.
Other FIS codes
- Cross-country (6 September 2023). FIS released a separate ten-rule cross-country code, saying not every rule of the general code fits every discipline. Its rules include keeping to the right-hand track on multi-track trails except when passing, uphill skiers yielding to downhill skiers, keeping poles close to the body near others, and clearing the track after a stop or fall.
- Snow parks. FIS also publishes a Code of Conduct for Snow Parks. The file it links to carries the dates 2 August 2016 and a revision of 31 March 2020 in its file name and metadata; its text could not be read, so those dates are unconfirmed.
NSAA's Your Responsibility Code (2022)
In the United States the National Ski Areas Association publishes Your Responsibility Code. NSAA says it first developed the code in 1962. In 2022 it grew from seven points to ten, adding points on impairment and on what to do after a collision. NSAA notes that ski areas are changing signs gradually, so older seven-point signs may still be seen.
The ten 2022 points cover staying in control; giving people ahead or downhill the right of way; stopping only where visible from above and not blocking a trail; looking uphill before starting or entering a trail; preventing runaway equipment; obeying signs, warnings and hazard markings; staying off closed trails and areas; knowing how to load, ride and unload lifts; not using lifts or terrain while impaired by alcohol or drugs; and, after a collision or incident, exchanging contact information with the others involved and a ski area employee. NSAA runs a slope-safety website, Ski Safety U.S.
The two codes overlap on control, right of way, stopping, looking uphill and signs. Only the NSAA code has explicit points on runaway equipment, closed terrain, lifts and impairment; only the FIS code covers overtaking, walking on the piste and the duty to assist. That comparison is the research's own reading of the two texts.
Switzerland
The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU) says people on Swiss pistes must follow the FIS rules and the rules of the Swiss Commission for the Prevention of Accidents on Snow-Sport Runs (SKUS). The SKUS rules themselves were not found.
What the collision counts show
| Source | Population and years | Collision figure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stiftung Sicherheit im Skisport, ASU Ski | German skiers (DSV members), 2024-25 | 1.90 collision injuries per 1,000 skiers, the highest since the 1979-80 baseline; 20.84% of all skiing injuries, slightly below the season before | Read on the foundation's page |
| BFU | Swiss pistes, release of 17 December 2024 | More than 90% of accidents are falls involving no one else; collisions are uncommon but often have serious consequences | Read in the BFU release |
| Colorado Sun coroner survey | Deaths on Colorado ski slopes, 2025-26 | None of the 13 deaths involved a collision with another skier | Read in the report |
| Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center registry | Norway, 1995 to 2000 | Collisions caused 16% of alpine, 11% of telemark and 9% of snowboard injuries; 84% came from the person's own falls | Unconfirmed: search-result excerpt |
| ASTM symposium paper, 1985 | Sugarbush, Vermont, 1972 to 1982 | 18% of injuries from collisions; collision injuries generally less severe, but collisions with trees produced a disproportionate share of serious injuries | Unconfirmed: search-result excerpt |
| Interview study, ESM 2011 abstract | Vorarlberg, Austria, 2011-12 | Those hurt in collisions had head injuries (15% against 8%) and concussions (15% against 6%) more often than those hurt in falls alone | Unconfirmed: search-result excerpt |
| Registry study, Injury, 2022 | 30,503 collisions in an Austrian registry, 2005 to 2018 | In skier-versus-snowboarder collisions the skier had a nearly eight-fold higher risk of being the more severely injured; head injuries were the most common location | Unconfirmed: search-result excerpt |
The collision share differs by setting and era. Figures run from about 9 to 16 percent of injuries (Norway, 1995 to 2000, unconfirmed) and 18 percent (Vermont, 1972 to 1982, unconfirmed) to 20.84 percent (German skiers, 2024-25), while the BFU says more than 90 percent of Swiss piste accidents involve no one else. These are different populations, counted in different ways, and are not combined here.
What this page leaves out
NSAA's own collision-safety page could not be opened on 24 October 2026, and no collision figures for US ski areas from NSAA were read. Legal liability after a collision differs by country and is not covered. Overall injury figures are on injuries named, and lift rules on lift safety regulators.
Sources
- FIS, Code of Conduct for Skiers and Snowboarders (file created 24 August 2023)
- FIS, 10 FIS Rules for Conduct, version 2016 (approved by the FIS Congress 2002; copy hosted by the Slovak ski federation)
- FIS, Code of Conduct for Snow Parks
- FIS news, FIS release cross-country code of conduct (6 September 2023)
- NSAA, Your Responsibility Code (2022)
- BFU (Swiss Council for Accident Prevention), media release on snow-sport accidents (17 December 2024, German)
- Stiftung Sicherheit im Skisport, ASU Ski accident analysis 2024-25
- The Colorado Sun, coroner survey of ski-area deaths, republished by the Durango Herald (11 May 2026)
- Austrian registry study of 30,503 collisions, Injury 2022 (library record; seen in a search-result excerpt only)
- ASTM symposium paper on Sugarbush, Vermont injuries 1972-82 (1985; seen in a search-result excerpt only)
- German Medical Science, ESM 2011 abstract on Vorarlberg collision injuries (seen in a search-result excerpt only)
- Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, alpine collision injuries 1995-2000 (seen in a search-result excerpt only)