We all enjoy ski touring and ski mountaineering. A key role for our Club is to promote safer ski touring by:
- offering training courses and events
- running the Leader Development Programme
- providing awards, particularly in support of younger members
- providing instructional and developmental tours/trips on our club tour programme and Scottish meets programme
- promoting key safety messages across our communications, particularly on our website.
This page summarises these key safety messages.
Safer ski touring – club tours
Match your own skills and aspirations with the right tour or meet. It's important to choose tours that match your level of comfort and experience in assessing and managing risk.
Accept the risks of ski touring and ski mountaineering, and take responsibility for your own actions and safety. This involves acting responsibly, carrying necessary kit and taking steps to develop your skills and experience.
Accept that unguided tours operate on the basis of "participative leadership" involving:
- collaborative ethos of consensus building
- self-responsibility in risk management
- good group communications
- teamwork and working together
Play an active role in the team by working together, communicating with others and helping to build consensus around team objectives and conditions.
Exercise a duty of care to others in the group and to other ski tourers at a level commensurate with their own current skill and experience level.
Follow the public health guidance and obligations of the country you are travelling in, and any club guidance in the event of a public health issue.
Have insurance covering rescue and medical expenses arising from ski touring.
Find out more about participating in club tours here: advice for tour participants
The role of the club “leader”
Facilitate a group decision-making process in which all members are expected to contribute.
Create a well-balanced team, by taking up references for applicants to ensure that their fitness and skills are appropriate for the planned tour.
Safer ski touring – member organised activities
Meet organiser (person proposing the activity)
You are not responsible for “leading” the activity. These trips should operate on the principle of self-responsibility in risk management and with a collaborative ethos of consensus-building, group communication, teamwork and working together.
You should be an independent ski tourer, confident in your ability to safely match the trip objective.
Meet organisers must:
- Provide information about their background, skills, aspirations and ski touring/mountaineering experience on their club profile so that other members can consider these carefully and the risks involved.
- Facilitate a mutual assessment process, so that other members can assess group experience against the tour objectives.
Meet organisers also need to:
- Describe the proposed tour or trip carefully, using the tour grading system.
- Encourage consensus-building, teamwork, and good communication amongst team members.
- Seek and share references for members who they have not skied with before.
Meet participants
If you're participating in a member organised activity:
- Accept the risks of ski touring and ski mountaineering, and take responsibility for your own actions and safety. This involves acting responsibly, carrying necessary kit and taking steps to develop your skills and experience.
- Exercise a duty of care to others in the group and to other ski tourers at a level commensurate with your own current skill and experience level.
- Play an active role in the team by working together, communicating with others and helping to build consensus around team objectives and conditions.
You should also:
- Check the profile of the member putting forward the activity (clicking on the name of the tour organiser should take you to their profile) and find out about their skills and experience (asking them for one or more references).
- Make sure your level of fitness, skill, experience and risk appetite fit the description of the activity.
- Be willing to provide one or more references, particularly if the activity is an informal hut-to-hut tour or a series of day tours from a base is a multiday tour or a more challenging objective.
- Follow the public health guidance and obligations of the country you are travelling in, and any club guidance in the event of a public health issue.
- Have insurance covering rescue and medical expenses arising from ski touring.
Find out more here: member organised activities.
Participation statement
In line with Mountaineering Scotland, the Eagle Ski Club recognises that off-piste skiing, ski touring and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions and involvement.