Do you wear a helmet?

IrekJanek · Feb 15, 2015

Every time I hear something like this: Ski industry stresses helmet use in wake of Sugarloaf death I can't help but wonder if it could have been avoided.

Original accident report: Husson University football player dies in skiing accident at Sugarloaf

Edd · Feb 15, 2015

Most skiers and riders do at this point. This is a well worn discussion on ski forums. You can usually expect someone to say that a helmet increases a skier's confidence so that he/she takes unnecessary risks but I've never bought that.

My opinion: the helmet pros outweigh the cons. I don't get the resistance personally but to each their own.

gmcunni · Feb 15, 2015

it boggles my mind when i see Ski Patrol and ski instructors on the mountain without helmets.

prsboogie · Feb 15, 2015

gmcunni said:
it boggles my mind when i see Ski Patrol and ski instructors on the mountain without helmets.

It is kind of ridiculous at this point to not wear one, at a minimum it will keep you from getting those unintended lumps and cuts from wild branches or out of control poles. They are relatively warm too!

steamboat1 · Feb 15, 2015

benski · Feb 15, 2015

And helmets make you look cooler

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

IrekJanek · Feb 15, 2015

benski said:
And helmets make you look cooler

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

Yes they do:beer:

abc · Feb 15, 2015

gmcunni said:
it boggles my mind when i see Ski Patrol and ski instructors on the mountain without helmets.

What may seem "boggles your mind" can be very simple.

I usually wear a helmet when I'm free skiing. But I typically don't wear a helmet when I'm instructing beginners and low level skiers. Why? It's too hot when doing drills repeatedly. Simple as that.

Besides, what's my chance of fall and hitting my head on the bunny slope? About the same as my walking across the road to get lunch! Since I don't wear a helmet getting lunch, I don't see the need to wear one while teaching.

gmcunni · Feb 15, 2015

abc said:
What may seem "boggles your mind" can be very simple.

I usually wear a helmet when I'm free skiing. But I typically don't wear a helmet when I'm instructing beginners and low level skiers. Why? It's too hot when doing drills repeatedly. Simple as that.

Besides, what's my chance of fall and hitting my head on the bunny slope? About the same as my walking across the road to get lunch! Since I don't wear a helmet getting lunch, I don't see the need to wear one while teaching.

when i've seen it it has been on intermediate trails (at least the times i can recall). Regardless, i'm probably being too politically correct in my thinking that as instructors you'd be an employee of the mountain and as instructors of beginners/intermediates you'd be setting an example of safety.. probably not good of me to assume my values and expectations are something you (the general "you", not you specifically) should be held to.

Not Sure · Feb 15, 2015

I wear a helmet all the time now ...But have to wonder I recently bought a Sony POV camera and have a stick on mount on the top .
Wondering if I just created a potential hazard , I can peel it off with a good amnount of force but in a fall will it grab a branch or something else and give me a neck injury?

BenedictGomez · Feb 15, 2015

IrekJanek said:
I can't help but wonder if it could have been avoided.

Cant say until the results are released. Usually the answer is, "no", but in this case if "blunt force trauma to the head” really is the correct answer as the article you linked suggests, that this case may be the exception.

abc said:
I typically don't wear a helmet when I'm instructing beginners and low level skiers. Why? It's too hot when doing drills repeatedly. Simple as that.

Does your helmet have vents? The technology has come a long way if your helmet is a few years old, I dont ever feel hot in mine.

WWF-VT · Feb 16, 2015

Siliconebobsquarepants said:
I wear a helmet all the time now ...But have to wonder I recently bought a Sony POV camera and have a stick on mount on the top .
Wondering if I just created a potential hazard , I can peel it off with a good amnount of force but in a fall will it grab a branch or something else and give me a neck injury?

POV camera might not be a hazard but it does make you look like a dork

Rowsdower · Feb 16, 2015

Never go without it now.

I even wear it to work sometimes, or around the house.

C-Rex · Feb 16, 2015

Siliconebobsquarepants said:
I wear a helmet all the time now ...But have to wonder I recently bought a Sony POV camera and have a stick on mount on the top .
Wondering if I just created a potential hazard , I can peel it off with a good amnount of force but in a fall will it grab a branch or something else and give me a neck injury?

It'll pop off before it causes enough force to hurt your neck. You may want to attach a lanyard to it for secondary retention. I had my GoPro on my head and caught a heel edge. I hit the back of my head hard enough to rip the mount off. If my girl didn't happen to see the camera go tumbling I'd be out $300.

Personally, I always wear a helmet. I definitely go by the "to each his own" mentality, but personally I can't see a good argument for not wearing one. When a simple bump to the head could change your life forever (or end it), I can't understand why someone would risk it. Even though it won't protect from everything, there are still a ton of incidents where a helmet can make all the difference.

dlague · Feb 16, 2015

gmcunni said:
it boggles my mind when i see Ski Patrol and ski instructors on the mountain without helmets.

Saw that at Cannon yesterday but he was with a group lesson and they were getting ready to go to the Tuckerbook area so beginner lesson.

prsboogie said:
It is kind of ridiculous at this point to not wear one, at a minimum it will keep you from getting those unintended lumps and cuts from wild branches or out of control poles. They are relatively warm too!

I agree. I have worn a helmet now for about ten years and yes it does keep head warmer. There was a woman skiing at Cannon with a knit cap at the summit (-20 to -30 with windchill) and was complaining about how cold her head was. Almost said something.

benski said:
And helmets make you look cooler

Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone

Hell ya - HALO Master Sargent look!

IrekJanek said:
Every time I hear something like this: Ski industry stresses helmet use in wake of Sugarloaf death I can't help but wonder if it could have been avoided.

Original accident report: Husson University football player dies in skiing accident at Sugarloaf

Even with Helmets - a woman died hitting a tree at Q Burke and had a helmet. The helmet may give some a false sense of security.

WWF-VT said:
POV camera might not be a hazard but it does make you look like a dork

Weren't they blamming that Indy racers death on a GoPro Mount (or at least tried to)?

C-Rex · Feb 16, 2015

dlague said:
Even with Helmets - a woman died hitting a tree at Q Burke and had a helmet. The helmet may give some a false sense of security.

I have a hard time believing that, but then again, some people are extraordinarily stupid. I definitely feel more vulnerable when I don't have one one (which is extremely rare), but I don't think I feel over confident with it either. I don't think people do things they wouldn't normally do just because they have a helmet on. I think it's simply ignorance. People see good conditions like soft snow or powder and feel like they can't get hurt. So they head into the trees looking for stashes and forget that it's the trees that are the danger. The go too fast or maybe don't have a lot of experience in glades or powder. Crashes happen when they think their skis or board will respond a certain way, like it does on a groomer, and it does something different.

One of my first times riding deep powder I knocked myself out in the woods at Killington. I went to turn around a tree, thinking my board would skid like it does on groomed stuff. It turned much sharper than I was expecting and I slammed the side of my head right into a pine. I had a helmet on but I hit just below it on my eye socket. I woke up a few seconds later on my back, buried in fluff. I had a cut on the side of my face where my goggles dug in and a nice shiner.

Edd · Feb 16, 2015

Edd said:
You can usually expect someone to say that a helmet increases a skier's confidence so that he/she takes unnecessary risks but I've never bought that.

...

dlague · Feb 16, 2015

C-Rex said:
I have a hard time believing that, but then again, some people are extraordinarily stupid. I definitely feel more vulnerable when I don't have one one (which is extremely rare), but I don't think I feel over confident with it either. I don't think people do things they wouldn't normally do just because they have a helmet on. I think it's simply ignorance. People see good conditions like soft snow or powder and feel like they can't get hurt. So they head into the trees looking for stashes and forget that it's the trees that are the danger. The go too fast or maybe don't have a lot of experience in glades or powder. Crashes happen when they think their skis or board will respond a certain way, like it does on a groomer, and it does something different.

One of my first times riding deep powder I knocked myself out in the woods at Killington. I went to turn around a tree, thinking my board would skid like it does on groomed stuff. It turned much sharper than I was expecting and I slammed the side of my head right into a pine. I had a helmet on but I hit just below it on my eye socket. I woke up a few seconds later on my back, buried in fluff. I had a cut on the side of my face where my goggles dug in and a nice shiner.

That is why you never go in the woods by yourself!

here is the story of the Q Burke death.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Skier-Who-Died-in-Accident-Identified-291247021.html\

VTKilarney · Feb 16, 2015

C-Rex said:
I have a hard time believing that, but then again, some people are extraordinarily stupid. I definitely feel more vulnerable when I don't have one one (which is extremely rare), but I don't think I feel over confident with it either.

If you feel more vulnerable don't you ski more cautiously?

There is a study that just came out that does seem to indicate that helmets make a difference. I've always scratched my head at the prior studies that were skeptical of helmet efficacy.

BenedictGomez · Feb 16, 2015

Siliconebobsquarepants said:
I recently bought a Sony POV camera and have a stick on mount on the top .
Wondering if I just created a potential hazard

I suppose laboratory safety testing would be required to confirm, but IMO it seems the logical answer would be "yes", if the area of impact was centered perfectly on the camera. Instead of the total force of the tree, rock, etc.. impact being dispersed a bit over a larger rounded surface it could be directed with focus into one very small area which could create instability. Does anyone know if any helmet companies incorporate "anti camera" language into their disclaimers? I'd do that if I ran Giro or Bern, etc..

Do you wear a helmet?

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