Recommendations to improve ski area safety with obstacle padding

Fixed obstacles, such as trees, rocks and posts, are common within recreational ski areas. Collisions with fixed obstacles (CWO) can have severe consequences with significant physical, emotional and economic costs. Despite worldwide use of ski area padding, few studies have focused on padding and CWO. The snowsports safety community is now focusing on this topic to improve safety at recreational ski areas. The objectives of this white paper are to summarize the recent work conducted on ski area padding, to identify unsolved questions about CWOs and opportunities to improve safety.

A review of the current knowledge regarding CWOs and ski area padding was performed, combining scientific studies and experience from the authors and ski area safety professionals. This review covers: (i) the epidemiology of CWOs; (ii) the characteristics of CWOs; (iii) padding type and use; (iv) ski area safety professional practices; and, (v) padding performance and the limits for injury mitigation.

Previous studies focused on epidemiology, padding practices and performance and provide motivation for further study in the areas of: (i) prevention of CWOs; (ii) padding practices to improve safety on the slopes; (iii) requirements for padding performance; and, (iv) technological advancement of padding materials and design.

There is a need for an international standard for ski area padding, to address the absence of padding performance requirements in most countries. Further research studies should also focus on providing guidance to ski areas on the best practices for choosing, applying, and maintaining ski area padding.