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Do you wear a helmet?

Birdman829

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I gotta agree with your reasoning here. Although a helmet only protects a small portion of your anatomy,and only in some of the impact situations, it's still a very important part of your anatomy.

I have seen more kids at the loaf, just going headlong, fearless, normally with a father right behind him, going as fast as he can and never catching his son, screaming for him to stop. It seems I only see this at the loaf. A fearless kid, on a long wide open trail.... And they fall and get right back up and keep on going.....

I seem to remember the very first thing I learned about skiing was how to stop. Seems they skipped that part.

I actually remember an incident where I was probably in second grade or so and was skiing with my godfather. I was going down Flume and straightlined it from about halfway down all the way back to King Pine with tons of people on the slope. I sure caught an earful when my godfather caught up to me at the lift. :oops:
 

Bumpsis

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This decision is a no-brainer. That is for people that have them. Therefore, I wear one.

This is the most condescending remark of this entire thread.
If you like wearing one (for whatever reason) that's great but there is no reason to pass negative judgements on the ones who don't.

I choose not wear one because I find helmets restrictive. After ripping down a field of moguls it's really supper efficent to cool off quickly by opening your jacket and taking your hat off for a while. It would be a real hassle to do the same with a helmet on.

Oh sure, I could get used to wearing one but I'm convinced that in my perticular case, my skiing exprience is enhanced by not having my head in a bucket. As to possible risks of not wearing one? Sure, logic would dictate that it is probably safer to wear one.
I just prefer not to. The upsides on not wearing one are greater than the the perecived benefits of the opposite.
I never ski out of control, I hardly ever fall and if I'm lucky enough to find some powder in the trees, I ski with the keen awareness that I could split my noggin if I'm not careful, which actually enhances the experience.
Aside from being mowed down by an out of control skier/rider - I'll just stay out of K-mart to minimize that danger.
 

tirolerpeter

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Helmet Use?

This topic always runs "downhill" and degenerates into childish name calling, and long "pseudo-scientific" arguments. Most of you are not old enough (I'm 60) to recall the level of (so called) "discourse" and controversy that surrounded the development of seat/shoulder belts for automobiles. The anti-belt use macho crowd argued that: "I will hold on, I don't want to be trapped in a car under water or in a fire, it limits my "freedom," etc.." These arguments ignore the "Laws of Physics" regardless of the laws of men. Of course, they didn't consider that you are also trapped if you are UNCONSCIOUS. Look at present day NASCAR drivers (pretty macho crew I think). They are so belted in that they can barely breath. And, their HELMETS are strapped to the seat backs in several directions. They must know something!

Regardless, I wouldn't dream of non-helmet skiing anymore. I have a great GIRO (with the sliding vents) for most of the season, and a BERN that allows removal of the inserts so that it is nearly as breezy as my cycling helmet. I don't advocate "mandatory" helmet use, but I do think that having made the choice not to wear one, should also limit the liability of others in the event that the "non-user" suffers a head injury that could have been reduced by wearing one. Besides, if I have to suffer a collision and a good "head knock" with someone else, I would rather they did not have a helmet on. Sucks for them. Most non-users don't wear them because they are too cheap to buy one, or petulance driven by their distain for being told "what is good for them." I don't care, wear one or not. LOL
 

andyzee

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This topic always runs "downhill" and degenerates into childish name calling, and long "pseudo-scientific" arguments. Most of you are not old enough (I'm 60) to recall the level of (so called) "discourse" and controversy that surrounded the development of seat/shoulder belts for automobiles. The anti-belt use macho crowd argued that: "I will hold on, I don't want to be trapped in a car under water or in a fire, it limits my "freedom," etc.." These arguments ignore the "Laws of Physics" regardless of the laws of men. Of course, they didn't consider that you are also trapped if you are UNCONSCIOUS. Look at present day NASCAR drivers (pretty macho crew I think). They are so belted in that they can barely breath. And, their HELMETS are strapped to the seat backs in several directions. They must know something!

Regardless, I wouldn't dream of non-helmet skiing anymore. I have a great GIRO (with the sliding vents) for most of the season, and a BERN that allows removal of the inserts so that it is nearly as breezy as my cycling helmet. I don't advocate "mandatory" helmet use, but I do think that having made the choice not to wear one, should also limit the liability of others in the event that the "non-user" suffers a head injury that could have been reduced by wearing one. Besides, if I have to suffer a collision and a good "head knock" with someone else, I would rather they did not have a helmet on. Sucks for them. Most non-users don't wear them because they are too cheap to buy one, or petulance driven by their distain for being told "what is good for them." I don't care, wear one or not. LOL

Couldn't have said it better. The only difference with me is that I have a Giro for skiing and one for biking :)
 

Birdman829

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I never ski out of control, I hardly ever fall and if I'm lucky enough to find some powder in the trees, I ski with the keen awareness that I could split my noggin if I'm not careful, which actually enhances the experience.
Aside from being mowed down by an out of control skier/rider - I'll just stay out of K-mart to minimize that danger.

This is exactly the argument that I was attempting to combat with my anecdote about Sugarloaf. Not all of the out of control skiers are at Kmart, they're everywhere. I wear a helmet because of others, not because of myself. That's the same reason that I wear my seatbelt in my car. Would you say, "oh I don't need a seatbelt, I'll just avoid Route 128"? I don't think so.
 

dmc

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This is the most condescending remark of this entire thread.
If you like wearing one (for whatever reason) that's great but there is no reason to pass negative judgements on the ones who don't.

Exactly ... Personal choice...

You know the ups and downs of the issue... You don't need people jumping on the soap box...

I wear one.. My choice.. I know two people that died from head trauma while wearing one.. I know lots that have had them save their ass... I know people that have had head injuries while wearing them too...

I'm not really sure i trust the statistics and the science behind it... kinda like lots of these people feel about global warming...
 

dmc

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This is exactly the argument that I was attempting to combat with my anecdote about Sugarloaf. Not all of the out of control skiers are at Kmart, they're everywhere. I wear a helmet because of others, not because of myself. That's the same reason that I wear my seatbelt in my car. Would you say, "oh I don't need a seatbelt, I'll just avoid Route 128"? I don't think so.

Back off the pulpit preacher...
Dudes a bump skier... I've never gotten hit by anybody in a bump line..
 

JD

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I don't understand why you wouldn't wear a helmet, and I haven't heard a valid reason not to. Helmets come off pretty easy. It's not like they are duct taped on. You can hear with them, they are safe and comfy. People arguing against them are like the folks that used to argue against seat belts because they wrinkled their cloths. Times change, helmets are the way to go, people who don't think so are future organ doners, so thanks for that, also...cross reference the Darwin Awards to learn why youare going the way of the Doe Doe Bird.
Cheers, happpy shredding.
 

skiNEwhere

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This is going to be a long reply.........Bear with me.......

So the date was Marth 5th, 2002. My mother and my sister were going to go skiing together. They went to Sugarbush, and had already enjoyed a couple days of skiing. My mother is a very experienced skiier, she has been skiing longer than I have been alive (20+ years), but she was still very conservative. My sister is a little more aggressive, so she would get down the slopes first. Both of them wore a helmet, as do I.

So they decided to go over to Mount Ellin. They went up close to the top of the mountain, then they went down what I believe was "lookin good", an intermediate trail. My sister got down first, of course, and waited for my mother to come down. And she waited. And waited. But she didn't come down. So my sister went up whatever chairlift was there in 02 that took her to 2/3's up the mountain. She skied down the trail, and saw a crowd of people around the edge of the trail. It was my mother, barely consious laying on the ground. Ski patrol came and took her to the bottom, but there was nothing they could do for here there, so they transferred her to a hospital. They performed immediate surgery, but she eventually died, the cause being a cardiac arrest.

How did she end up skiing into a tree? You tell me, we still don't know. She was a very good skier, I don't think she lost control. Honestly, I think she was cut off, without the person who cut her off realizing the consequences of what they had done.

You would think all of this would lead into me saying that helmets don't work, and there is no point in wearing them, but it couldn't be more the opposite. Helmet's do work, it has been proven, and while I do wish they worked a little better, they can help save your life. Its like the person before me who said that you wear a seatbelt for that guy who isn't paying attention and swerves into your lane. Same concept, different field.

I was 16 when that happened, and I am almost 21 now, and I have only gone on 1 skiing trip since then. Not because I am haunted by what happened and never want to ski again, but mostly because my mom was the big skiier in the family and my dad just kinda tagged along, and he wouldn't let me go on ski trips alone after that incident.

A distant friend who didn't know about my mom mentioned skiing to me 4 days ago, and they reminded me how much fun it is. I am now looking very foward to ski trips when I get back to the states in January.
 

Greg

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Oh man.....what a sad story, llamborghinii. I'm sorry to hear that, but I think it's great that you want to get back out there! Your mom obviously loved it and would probably want you to do so.
 

skiNEwhere

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Thanks, I'm not trying to draw any pity into this story. It was a few years ago and I have moved on. I just wanna get the point accross that helmets can save lives, and the technology is only improving. Just becuase you are wearing a helmet doesn't make you immune to any injury though. And it is quite possible that because the cause of death was cardiac arrest, that her chest hit the tree first, not her head. I love skiing and there are risks associated with everything in life, you can't live in a cement house in a fetal position. I am very open to this, so if anyone ever remembers hearing about this when it happened, please feel free to send me a message.

If you're not livin' on the edge you're takin' up too much space right???
 

Brn4353

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Helmets save lives. Do people get injured wearing helmets?...sure, but working as a therapist in an acute care hospital, I can tell you that head injuries tend to be less severe when a helmet is worn. I always were a helmet, on my bike, while on my skis and if I ever used a motorcycle, I'd get one there too.
 

tirolerpeter

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Helmets?

Helmets save lives. Do people get injured wearing helmets?...sure, but working as a therapist in an acute care hospital, I can tell you that head injuries tend to be less severe when a helmet is worn. I always were a helmet, on my bike, while on my skis and if I ever used a motorcycle, I'd get one there too.

My buddy is a NY City fireman, an Advanced EMT, and works with a volunteer Rescue/Ambulance service (although, he gets paid for his shifts). NY State has a mandatory helmet law. Some bikers wear those little "skull cap" type helmets to comply with the law. He and his crew refer to those guys (invariably they are male) as "organ doners." If a helmet helps with bike crashes, it sure as heck will help on the slopes.
 

bigbog

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wearing the helmet....

Yes....
Ya' never really know when you might get forced over to the outer edges of the groomed trails...and in flat light...it's often tough to see ice over there. Picking up the Sensor Mirror lenses...hopefully they'll make a difference. ...and it got tiring when you're looking for both rocks and branches..as well as ice, at the same time...when off the groomed.
 

Nosedive

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Invincible

I started wearing a Giro 9 a couple years ago when I noticed that as I was getting better at skiing I was also geting a lot more aggresive. However one thing that bugs me about people that weat helmets are the ones who think they are invincible. They completely ignore all warnings on the helmet and assume that the helmet allows them to ski carefree. No helmet of any kind for any use could ever make you invincible. Think of the number of football players who have had to retire due to too many concussions even though they wear helmets. It just annoys me to see people like that and they need a nice big sign telling them that they could end up killing themselves because they dont have the common sense to realized that.
 

Grassi21

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Yes I do. Gotta set an example for the lil' one.


Cute. One of my favorite things while riding the lift is watching the little ones haul rear down the mountain. I can't wait to have a little one that I can push down the hill.

IMO kids are the only people on the mountain that can get away with having stuff hanging off of their helmet like that.
 

Paul

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Cute. One of my favorite things while riding the lift is watching the little ones haul rear down the mountain. I can't wait to have a little one that I can push down the hill.

IMO kids are the only people on the mountain that can get away with having stuff hanging off of their helmet like that.

They make her go fast! Like a dinosaur! :spin:
 
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