Research carried out by insurance company Confused.com has revealed that an alarming number of skiers are jeopardising their safety and the validity of their travel insurance by drinking in excess before heading out to the slopes. 

Twenty four percent of skiers admitted to drinking more than four units, equivalent to more than two points or two glasses of wine before skiing. One-in-four skiers said that they had been affected by drunken skiers, these included people either admitting to have fallen over in the resort after après ski, falling on the slopes or being hit by a skier who had been drinking.

The research also reveals that there are two groups most likely to indulge in drinking before skiing: men – of which thirty five percent admitted to drinking heavily and regularly on skiing holidays, and skiers aged 31-35, with over one in four drinking more than two glasses of wine before hitting the slopes.

Confused.com also report that one in ten people have noticed an increase in aggression between skiers and those on the slopes who have been drinking, and twenty percent have noticed that there are more people on the slopes than previous seasons. Numerous resorts in the United States employ people to patrol the slopes, with dangerous drunken skiers facing a fine of $1000 (£635) in Colorado.

Research by the Foreign Office suggests that many British skiers do not take out travel insurance at all. The survey of 2,300 people found that almost a third fail to take out cover before heading to the slopes, whilst, nearly two thirds believe that their holiday insurance will cover them if they have an accident while skiing under the influence. Many policies would in fact be invalidated if a doctor deemed the accident to be the result of excessive alcohol, leaving the patient to pay for their own medical expenses.

The same study found that over 50% of the people questioned mistakenly assumed that a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) would cover costs such as transport off the slopes, an air ambulance and medical repatriation.

Such research backs up the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices’ decision to launch a new initiative to raise awareness amongst skiers of the dangers of alcohol abuse while on the ski slopes. The campaign aims to highlight the risks of drinking and skiing as well as the effects of alcohol at high altitude.

French police and rescue services, as well as airports and ski resorts in Switzerland and Italy, and TUI’s ski companies are backing the campaign which aims to encourage skiers to take out full insurance cover for skiing holidays as well as increase awareness of the affects of combing alcohol and skiing.