Ski cutting is controversial. Some experts state don’t do it; it’s too risky! Yet a significant number of backcountry skiers choose to cut certain slopes before they ski them. A 2019 study gave us the first estimates of the risk from ski cutting, but only for avalanche practitioners. In this video, Bruce Jamieson reminds us that the risk to recreationalists will be higher than for trained professionals. We agree, and also stress the backcountry is not the ski area, where the snowpack may be modified by explosives and compaction, and where rescue resources are standing by. Jamieson is clear that these nine essentials are for those backcountry users who choose to ski cut for the purpose of slope-testing or controlling small slopes, and who are willing to accept the obvious risk.

The recommendations read like standard operating procedures and promote a healthy hazard assessment. Importantly, for those willing to accept the risk, Jamieson encourages learning from a very experienced mentor and selecting a combination of predictable conditions and terrain that present, in his words, “less surprise and less risk.”