TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — The holiday season is here, and for many, that means family gatherings and ski vacations.

Skiers and snowboarders are hitting the slopes ahead of the always busy holiday season. While more terrain is opening, early season conditions still exist and many people are getting out to enjoy the mountain.

Dr. Jeffrey Greenbaum, medical director at St. Johns’s Health in the Emergency Department and medical director at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Ski Patrol, shared these tips with Buckrail for navigating potentially crowded slopes:

  1. Know the Code and stay in control.
  2. If you can’t stop, then you’re going too fast.
  3. Practice defensive skiing.
  4. Never stop where uphill skiers cannot see you.
  5. Always stop on the side of the slope, not the center.
  6. Keep your group size small.
  7. Look uphill before starting from stationary or when merging.
  8. Don’t take blind jumps without a spotter.
  9. Teach your kids the “Rules of the Road.”
  10. Don’t leave the scene of an accident, wait for Patrol.

Check out the snow and weather report here.

Buckrail runs these tips annually.