Adequate training is essential to practice this sport: find out more from your local mountain guides or CAI ski touring schools.

Start reading the snow and weather bulletins at least 3/4 days before your trip trip and choose the safest route. If you are not sure how to interpret them, ask an expert to help you. If the bulletin indicates a grade 2 or 3 avalanche risk, take great care; if the risk rises to grade 4 or 5, cancel your trip.

Organise your trip beforehand,assess the technical difficulties and get informationinformation from the local mountain guides office.

Although never advisable, if you ski on your own, let someone know where you are going.

Choose your companions carefully, assess their experience and fitness.

Prepare your backpack appropriately, always take a shovel, probe, compass, map and altimeter. From the moment you put your skis on, wear an avalanche transceiver in the transmitting position. It is advisable to wear a helmet when skiing downhill.

Assess the angle of the slope using your poles,
at more than 25° (half the length of the pole) there is a risk of avalanches.

Always set out very early and bear in mind that:
• your behaviour,
• fresh snow,
• wind,
• slope angle,
• rapid heating,
can all contribute to triggering an avalanche.

If an avalanche accident occurs:
• you have 18 minutes to effectively rescue the avalanche victim;
• you must call 118
• at the same time, implement the emergency rescue procedure with which you should be familiar.

The rescuer must principally: • mark the place where the victim disappeared;
• turn the transceiver to the receive position, assemble the shovel and probe and start searching;
• when you have identified the avalanche victim, mark the point with the probe;
• start digging about a metre downhill from the probe at the side;
• when you reach the body, use your hands to free the head and chest first and make sure the respiratory cavities are not blocked;
• protect the body of the avalanche victim from the cold.