I could have been seriously hurt. There are universal rules when skiing and snowboarding, applicable to everyone, worldwide. Commonly known as the Alpine Responsibility Code, it is endorsed and used by most ski areas around the world with slight variations. Ultimately, it's about using some common sense and personal awareness to reduce elements of risk.

Skiing and snowboarding in the backcountry takes an entirely different approach to riding at a ski resort. We knew this in theory, but getting out there and putting what we learnt into practice really put things into perspective for us.  I wanted to share with you some of the things that we learnt so that you can understand the type of things you need to know and just how easy it is to trigger of an avalanche.