Mountain safety
Stay safe on the slopes in Soldeu.
The basics: piste-colour codes, the 10 FIS rules, and a few practical tips before you click into your bindings.
Skiing is brilliant fun and very safe when everyone on the mountain follows the same rules. Andorra's slopes are colour-coded by difficulty, and the FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) publishes ten universal rules of conduct that apply on every piste, in every resort, worldwide. The short version is below — read it before your first run.
Piste colours
Difficulty rating.
All pistes in Andorra are colour-coded so you know what to expect from a run before you head down it. Across Europe you'll find four ratings:
Green
Often referred to as nursery slopes — especially for beginners.
Blue
Easy slopes, almost always groomed.
Red
Intermediate slopes, steeper or narrower than blues, usually groomed.
Black
Expert slopes, may or may not be groomed, a wide classification.
Rules of the slopes
The 10 FIS rules.
The FIS (Fédération Internationale de Ski) is the main international body for snow sports. They organise the major events worldwide and publish ten rules of conduct for skiers and snowboarders. When you're on the mountain you should stick to all ten — for your safety and everyone else's.
A skier or snowboarder must behave in such a way that he does not endanger or prejudice others.
A skier or snowboarder must move in control. He must adapt his speed and manner of skiing or snowboarding to his personal ability and to the prevailing conditions of terrain, snow and weather as well as to the density of traffic.
A skier or snowboarder coming from behind must choose his route in such a way that he does not endanger skiers or snowboarders ahead.
A skier or snowboarder may overtake another skier or snowboarder above or below and to the right or to the left provided that he leaves enough space for the overtaken skier or snowboarder to make any voluntary or involuntary movement.
A skier or snowboarder entering a marked run, starting again after stopping or moving upwards on the slopes must look up and down the slopes that he can do so without endangering himself or others.
Unless absolutely necessary, a skier or snowboarder must avoid stopping on the piste in narrow places or where visibility is restricted. After a fall in such a place, a skier or snowboarder must move clear of the piste as soon as possible.
A skier or snowboarder either climbing or descending on foot must keep to the side of the piste.
A skier or snowboarder must respect all signs and markings.
At accidents, every skier or snowboarder is duty bound to assist.
Every skier or snowboarder and witness, whether a responsible party or not, must exchange names and addresses following an accident.
Wear a helmet
Helmets are increasingly popular on the slopes of Andorra. They're not compulsory — but they're strongly recommended, especially for children and for anyone learning. You can easily add a helmet to your equipment hire booking when you arrange your ski hire with us.
The 10 FIS rules are reproduced verbatim from the Fédération Internationale de Ski. They are universal across every ski resort, worldwide.
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