Wow, some really cool posts in this thread.
To the question earlier about Europe being in the title. I think(though I can't read minds) the OP was making a distiction of markings and warnings that we've grown accustomed to in the US.
I get the idea that European resorts don't have such markings, or at least not as much as we do here.
Jacob said:
Exactly. I grew up doing ski trips in CO, and I got used to the idea that everything within the resort boundaries was safe to ski due to avi control and marked hazards. When I moved to the UK and took my first trip to the Alps, I quickly learned that you’re on your own as soon as you step off the groomers no matter where you are.
That said, it doesn’t take long at all to get used to doing the necessary checks, and it quickly becomes second nature.
Those are very valid points. When the winter tourism was limited to (locals) italians , we all sort of knew where the "boundaries" were, in any specific locations ("second nature" as said by Jacob) , it was part of the instructions we were getting at ski school covering safety (this could also belong to the other thread..."who taught you to ski safely"). Groomed trails in Italy are generally delimited by poles through out their length from top to bottom. outside of that...it's al backcountry, so to speak. At some locations, like my home mountain (Ponte di Legno Tonale), when one reaches the higher ground (the Glacier, at 3100 mt a.s.l.) there is no "gate" telling skiers that beyond that point they'll enter Glacial grounds err snows and, despite the beauty of the scenery and the inviting valley to ski down, there is no lift back up, and during winter time the two huts (refuges) down there are closed. It is an AT itinerary that can be done only if well equipped (with AT skis, boots and skins, but with also maps or guides), and well prepared. In recent years, in 2018 it has occured at least thrice that foreign tourists skied down there and had to be object of SAR operations. Since then, a warning sign in multiple languages has been posted atthe spot, but other places ramins as they were in the past without warning signs. Too little too late? Dunno. One of my main rules to ski off-piste in a place I do not know is : gather as many information as possible, keep eyes wide opend, then either gang up with locals (or at least ask first hand informations) or hire a guide.
ah, BTW all dispersed parties were recovered although had to spend a night out in the cold (I think in one case, two guys, were found late in the evening and helped prepare an emergency bivouac - not being equipped to ski in deep snow at night, had to wait till the morning to be taken down back to safety; in the other, father and daughter, IIRC, spent the nigh walking around to avoid to freeze , and were found by the SAR party next morning....at the time there were no big wild animals , bears or wolves, that could represent a danger...)