Four Signals Against Running the Off-Piste Clinic

No gate today. Run the clinic on piste and on patrolled near-piste edges.

The decision rests on four independent factors, each sufficient on its own:

1. Snow and wind. 40 cm of new snow with 60-90 km/h ridgeline wind builds wind slab on lee aspects, and lee aspects are exactly where an introductory group would go. Danger rising from 2 to 3 in the afternoon means the trend is against you, not for you.
2. Access. Upper mountain on wind hold removes the terrain the clinic was designed around.
3. Cover. Early-season conditions with unmarked obstacles is a coverage problem, not a powder problem.
4. Group profile. A post-operative knee, no helmet, and a coughing participant are not a powder-day group.

Substitution. Keep the stated outcome but rescope it explicitly: linked turns in soft and variable snow on patrolled terrain with a visible run-out. Read surface changes, manage spacing, work turn shape in chopped snow. That preserves the learning objective without pretending the hazard has gone.

Communication and consent. In the first five minutes, state the forecast, the gate status, the reasons, and the revised plan, and offer an exit - rebook or refund. Real consent needs a real option to decline. Document the plan change and the reasons in the lesson record; that record is your evidence of a reasoned decision.

His disclosure changes the risk profile, and duty of care follows it.

Five months post-total-knee-replacement, no written clearance, and no skiing since surgery is outside what a general group clinic can supervise. The risk is not only the implant: it is a fall in variable snow with reduced proprioception and a knee that has not been loaded in a ski boot since the operation.

1. Thank him privately for telling you early; disclosure is what lets you make a good decision.
2. State the policy in neutral, institutional terms: for a joint replacement within twelve months, the school requires written clearance from the treating surgeon or physician before participation.
3. Offer real options: clearance sent as a photo from the clinic today, a low-intensity private at reduced terrain scope, or a rebook.
4. Do not accept 'the surgeon said it's fine' as clearance. It is a report of a conversation, not documentation, and it does not describe any restrictions.
5. Document the disclosure, the options offered, and his choice, with times.

Do not substitute a waiver for judgement. A signature does not make the terrain safer and does not transfer your duty of care.

Hold the line without moralising: 'I would rather ski with you next month than have you miss the season.' Then give him the on-piste option so the refusal has somewhere to go.

Separate policy decisions from judgement calls, and be explicit about which is which.

• Ines, helmet: school policy, not a personal risk decision. No helmet, no clinic, unless she rents or buys one - five minutes to the rental shop. Do not turn it into a debate about liberty; it is a policy with an insurance consequence and it protects you both.
• Ines, skis: not a policy issue on piste. In 40 cm of soft snow on piste they will be workable but limiting. Tell her the truth, let her decide, and if the plan later moves into deeper or variable terrain where the equipment becomes a genuine control risk, that is your decision to make and to state.
• The coughing participant: this is a capacity judgement, not a diagnosis. Ask open questions - how do you feel, is this normal for you - watch for deterioration, slow the pace, use the lift rather than the walk. If the cough is accompanied by breathlessness at rest, chest pain, or fever, refer them to the base clinic and end their day. You are not a clinician; you are deciding whether you can safely supervise.

Common thread. Your authority to say no is the core of the role. Say it once, explain the reason, offer the alternative, and write three lines: time, issue, decision, who agreed. A decision made in the lift line and never recorded is indistinguishable from no decision at all.