Safety is the main priority for all user groups on the mountain. We have researched and evaluated incidents at dozens of European rodelbahns and come up with a comprehensive guide to minimize risk at your resort.

The majority of incidents in Europe are a direct result of schlittens, davos sleds and other devices without steering capabilities. Incidents from common to least common are; head trauma, followed by knee sprain, ankle sprain, and ankle/leg fracture. European rodelers share the piste at many resorts. We saw zero incident reports from rodelers hitting skiers or snowboarders. Many reported incidents involved the use of alcohol and no helmets.

Here are the most important ways to keep guests happy and safe.

The skier responsibility code and the assumption of risk allows resorts to prevail on most claims as long as the resort was not negligent in any way. Certainly, America is a highly litigious country so added warning signs, extra waivers, careful grooming and B- netting around risky terrain will help mitigate risk. Sport rodels can be equipped with emergency hand brakes for an additional fee. You will want to determine if guests bringing their own sport rodels need e -brakes to ride your mountain. E- brakes can be purchased from Utah Rodel and sold in your shops to allow guests with their own devices to easily make their sport rodel mountain friendly.

Slope sitting at turns.

Incidents can occur at sharp turns. If your turns are too sharp, guests will slow down to make the turn then sit and wait for family and friends. While slope siting is certainly part of the culture of sport rodeling and snowboarding, hairpin turns can create a traffic jam and increased risk. This risk can be easily eliminated with proper signage and wide turns.