Just look around at the other skiers; if you are barrelling past them and they look a bit blurry, you are probably going a bit too quick. Staying at the same pace as the majority is probably round about the right speed and won't attract attention from the piste police.

I have worn my Garmin Forerunner watch (with GPS) a few times but it is a bit hard to look at the speed while skiing. I can see the max speed though when I finish so gives me an idea of my speed.

I find it far easier to avoid slower riders if I make the speed difference so large that it renders them effectively stationary.

This is one of the main reasons why I avoid Flumserberg like the plague... Never waited so long in a que as I have there.

Wore a GPS one day over Christmas, nice easy day cruising with the girlfriend... was surprised to see a max speed of 51km/h, apparently we do go faster then we realise! Think I'll refrain from taking it when I go with other blokes... I don't think I want to see!

As a US skiier, I second this. I have been able to get through a line with over 50 people ahead of me in just a few minutes. Plus as a bonus, when your skiing alone, sometimes you get on a lift with others and meet new people. And for the groups of people, no worries. There is always a section for groups. My pet peeve in the states is when they aren't paying attention and miss the their window to jump on the chair. Then the lifts are stopped.

Something I noticed when skiing in CH, people sneak up behind to pass you. In the US we give out a polite "on your left/right" or simply "left/right" when passing. Mostly just on the beginner and intermediate so as not to freak the the wobbly person as we pass. If it's going to be a small squeeze, I think that's only curteous to give a polite warning.

I think the problem here in any European resort is do you have enough time to warn them in English, German, Swiss German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Portugese and Russian before you reach them? Because the person could easily speak any one of these languages.

....or be deaf as post like me, I get scared when someone just whooshes past in a tight-ish spot ,as I don't hear them creeping up behind me ...... that's why I prefer to ski on wiiiiiiiiideeee pistes

I have thios problem. I'm profoundly deaf in the right ear, so if you're on my right, I hear on my left and so think you're passing me on my left, so I might move to the right if I hear you coming... it's terrible.

It all happens on the left, mono.

When my UK friends come over for their annual ski week we have a kind of awards ceremony every evening after dinner (and copious amounts of wine) to award the bell. The bell (usually a miniature souvenir Swiss cow bell) goes to whoever had the most spectacular crash during the day and the person has to wear it as a warning to other skiers the next day that there is a crap skier in their midst.

In recent years, however, we all got kids so the crash bell is harder to give out - seeing as we are piddling around on nursery slopes and with taboggens...

You sometimes see it arranged that way if you ski in other places like Canada & the U.S. And given egalitarian facillities, this approach works very well for both Boarders and Skiiers.

Looking through this thread I wonder where beginners are meant to learn to ski? Everyone has to start somewhere, but it seems that people forget that they were once beginners too.

I don't think the thread is aimed at beginners in a negative way. The posts are about speeding on the piste and the people who don't follow the general rules of safety when on the slope. I can definately say that speed is not the issue when I am on the slope ......more lack of it!

I think as a beginner as long as you stay on the blue slopes and do your best to stay in control then other more advanced skiers will not have a problem with you and will be able to avoid you. The problem comes when you have a beginner who thinks they can handle more than they can or when you have more experienced skiers who don't give a damn about anybody else on the slope.

Beginners are always quite obvious.
Concentrate on yourself and don't worry. And maybe do not choose the biggest skiing areas, smaller ones are generally more unhurried.