To all skiers: Do you wear a helmet? .... do you also wear it to cross the highway?

Question

I'm sure crossing a highway is more dangerous.

Answer 1

I always wear a helmet when skiing, partly because of the kind of skiing I do, (park, pipe, BC) and also because I love skiing and I want to do it for the rest of my life. It's not worth the couple hours of "Oh, I'm so cool because I can ski without a helmet" to plow into a tree or the knuckle of a jump and paralyze myself and ruin my life.

Take a look at this video, and you can only imagine what the little girl would've gone through WITH a helmet, god know what would've happened without one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ynhucPP...

Answer 2

I only wore a helmet when I had been required to (ski racing).  Now that I only free ski, I have yet to put it on.  It would mess up my ipod & hair + make me too warm.

Answer 3

I wear a helmet.  It will not protect me in every accident but it will protect me in accidents that would harm me if I wasn't wearing one.

Also.  10 minutes after an accident is the wrong time to start wearing one.

As for the highway analogy, I cross highways in far more controlled circumstances that I am in when I ski.  I decide when I step off the sidewalk (usually when protected by traffic signals).  On skis, I cannot control the out of control idiot who cleans me up from behind.

Answer 4

I wear a helmet.

Ive never had a serious fall or anything, but I know people who have and wished they were wearing a helmet.

Plus, some of them look d**n cool.

Answer 5

yes i do. and i dont remember ever crossing a highway

Answer 6

I have a friend who is an expert skier.  He always wears a helmet.  Several years ago he had a bad fall and knocked himself out.  He fractured his skull and had a severe concussion.  His helmet shattered.  Had he not had it on, his skull would have shattered instead and he wouldn't be alive today.

Answer 7

I always wear a helmet when skiing. its common sence you could loose control and hit a tree(glade skiing) or if you are just that bad of a skier to go off the trail. and if you fall it the park it will hurt (could get a concusion) I always wear it skiing. you are nice to politely say it is not needed. unless you talk about trying to jump back country roads with skis on. i did it once before it was pretty sweet but my friend didn't make it and scratched up his back really bad. so i don't do that anymore oh and he had a helmet on if he didn't the doctor said he would have gone into a coma. just a thought. be same wear a helmet.

Answer 8

Well i dont cross a highway very often.  But wen I do i always have a helmet with me.  Crossing a highway can be dangerous bussiness.  Recently i have been wearing a helmet everywear i go. Never kno when a metorite will crash into your head.

Answer 9

Only on very rare occasions do I not put on a brain bucket. I have two of them. It has to be a very dead day at the mountain and I have to be only skiing cruisers to not put on my helmet. I always wear one on Patrol and when teaching.

I've had two collisions with snowboarders (their fault) and several close encounters of the tree kind where my head would have been banged up pretty well if not for my helmet.

I don't chastise people who don't wear one, it's your head. But if you think wearing one is stupid, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mock those of us who do choose to wear one.

Answer 10

well the only way you can get hurt crossing a high way, is to not look both ways before you cross... i pretty stupid way to die. when i ski, yes i wear a helmet. and for good reasons... that i dont feel like listing. i think skiing is more dangerous than crossing a high way. unless your that dumb

Answer 11

I've worn a helmet for 10 years now.  I bought it after a nasty fall in the pow that would have knocked me out had it been a typical New Enlgand scratch day.  I wear it because:

1.  Joeys at the lodge tend to rotate while carrying their skis, causing their skis to hit my head.  Wearing a helmet prevents injury.

2.  Joeys getting off the lifts tend to swing their poles all over the place, cause my head to get hit.  (Note:  poles should be kept in one hand until you have successfully cleared the unloading zone)

3.  Most times when I fall, I'm already slowing down.  I've had 3 falls where the helmet kept me from a serious concussion (once I had a mild one, the other 2 times I was ok).  I survived a collision with a fellow ski coach:  neither had a head injury (I did have a neck sprain and she broke a rib).  Note:  if you are traveling above 10mph, the helmet will be limited in its effectiveness, but I believe something is better than nothing)

4.  Once I started wearing a helmet, my goggles stopped fogging (no longer putting them up on a sweaty forehead).

5.  I can stick cool things on my helmet.

6.  It's a great way to carry your gloves and things when you're done.

I recommend the half bucket vs the full bucket.  The half bucket has ear flaps that can be removed for spring skiing.  I found I could hear better with the 1/2 bucket than the full one.   It's also lighter in weight.   Get a helmet with a controllable air vent.

It's all about risk:  how often is the event likely to happen and how dire would the outcome be (I thinkyou need to add in the ability to prevent the event).  I spend way more time skiing than I do crossing  roads on foot.  It's unlikely that an out of control car will hit me from behind, whereas an out of control skier is much more likely to cause collision.

Answer 12

I wear a helmet most of the time when I'm skiing, and some times when I'm crossing the highway to the parking lot. The times I ski and don't wear it I'm on the beginners slope and it is very warm. As soon as I move to a chair lift I wear the helmet.

Answer 13

I would have to disagree.  I would say that skiing is more dangerous than crossing a highway.  Not much chance of losing control and hitting a tree at 30 mph when you are walking across a road.  The only way you could get hurt is if you were too stupid to look both ways before you walked across.  Lots of ways to smash your melon while skiing.