Once again, homes and offices across the country are ringing to the sound of plaster casts on carpet and eye-watering tales of skiing and snowboarding accidents. Less amusingly, there have been a number of fatal crashes on the ski slopes this season, most famously a 60mph collision between a German politician and a Slovakian woman that left her dead and him with a fractured skull. Italy alone has recorded more than 1,000 accidents on the slopes this year, and more than 100 fines for dangerous skiing. So if you're a bit rusty or this is your first time on the slopes, how do you stay safe and sound?

Do your homework

"From my experience, eight out of 10 people overestimate their fitness," says Ben Farley, the "ski host" of a chalet near the resort of Sainte Foy in the French Alps. "Especially the lads. Within hours on the first morning they're absolutely shattered." Which, of course, is when accidents are most likely to occur. Jonathan Bell, a specialist in knee surgery at the Wimbledon Clinic in London, says one of the main causes of injuries is poor conditioning; he recommends training for between six weeks and three months before setting off, depending, of course, on the level you're aiming to ski at. Try to get a basic grounding in cardiovascular fitness. Strength work is also important, as
are balance and co-ordination, which you can improve through Pilates, for example.

Try not to spoil all that hard work by staying too long in the bar. "Booze can be a big factor in people knackering themselves - collapsing even," says Rorie Scott, a guide with the Ecole du Ski Français at Tignes Val Claret. Even if you're not trying to shake off a hangover, make sure you drink plenty of water. You'll dry out faster at 1,500 metres than at sea level.

While you're hydrating, take another look at the International Ski Federation's rules of conduct, which you'll find at fis-ski.com or plastered all over your resort. They may be common sense - "A skier or snowboarder must behave in such a way that he does not endanger or prejudice others", for example - but that can be in short supply, particularly if your friends are egging you on to try an "easy" black run.

Start slowly

Winter sports are so horribly expensive that you'll feel under pressure to spend every minute you can on the slopes - but you'll have more fun if you ease into things. "For the first day, I advise people to ski, have lunch, then make their way home," says Farley. "The only time I've ever had people have accidents was in the afternoon." Or you could have a late breakfast and ski through lunch, when there will be fewer bodies to crash into. In France, many resorts practically empty between 12 and two. "If you ski then," says Farley, "you'll find 40% fewer people on the slopes."

Keep to the pistes

Remember: you are not James Bond, and skiing is not all about slaloming through trees while avoiding machine-gun fire. If you simply can't resist that virgin powder, take a local guide. "Even I only ski off-piste on my own locally," says Farley.

Think about a helmet

Dieter Althaus, the German politician in last week's crash, was wearing a helmet and survived; the Slovakian woman wasn't, and didn't. Morgan tells how his brother-in-law collided with another skier and had his helmet "gashed to bits" by the other person's skis. "That could have been his head," Morgan points out. Resorts generally insist that children wear helmets, at least for classes.

But what about adults? "I would recommend people wear them," says Farley. At the Ski Club of Great Britain, Carrie Hainge says she "occasionally" wears one - "and I'm thinking of buying a new one". Morgan says simply: "Get a helmet. You wouldn't dream of driving a car without a seat belt." As with cycling, the counter-argument is that helmets cut the skier or boarder off from the outside world, or create a false sense of security that encourages them to take greater risks. And even the guides admit that they often ski without them. "When I'm teaching, I don't wear a helmet," says Scott. "I guess when you're out on the hill all day you don't want that sweaty thing on your head. But it's different when I'm skiing on my own or with friends."

Use your eyes and ears

What one piece of advice would Morgan give novice skiers? "Look uphill before you set off." He is astounded at the number of people who simply set off without checking what's speeding towards them down the slopes.

It's like crossing the road without checking for traffic. Like many old-timers, he's not impressed by the number of young people who ski or board wearing iPods, missing the valuable warning given by the noise of other people's skis. "The iPod-compatible helmet," he says, "was not a sensible invention."

Avoid being a target

Those lower down the mountain generally have priority over those higher up. But don't use that as an excuse to sweep from one side of the piste to the other, causing chaos for those hoping to pass you. And don't stop just under the brow of the hill, so that others suddenly discover you in their path. Even if you're in a group of boarders, try to resist the temptation to sit down and have a nice chat just where the slope is narrowest and busiest.

Don't trust the label

A green run is easier than a blue is easier than a red is easier than a black? That's the theory. But in practice? "It's nonsense," says Farley. Not only do the gradings vary from one resort to another, but shade, wind and the number of skiers can make the whole system meaningless. Visit the same
resort often enough and you will see how runs change throughout the day - and yet novices blindly stick to the overcrowded, icy greens and blues, rather than "risking" an empty, perfectly groomed red. "I think you can become obsessed with colours," says Morgan.

Don't be a child

Or rather, a silly boy. Everyone says that men tend to ski or board more recklessly than women. "I do tend to think that blokes will overestimate their ability and women will underestimate it," says Morgan. Scott agrees: "It's a kind of male pride thing. Everyone wants to go one better than their mates. What's great about this sport is that you can do it at your own pace ..." And, though he doesn't say it, just because you didn't attempt that scary black, there's nothing to stop you going back home and saying you did.

And, finally ...

Don't get so terrified of physical injury that you come back from the slopes a bag of nerves. "In four years I've only had one guest helicoptered off," says Farley. "And he discharged himself and was back in the pub by 3.30."

• Additional reporting by Peter Bowden.