Helmets

Here's what I see as the fundemental issue here, personal risk management. I have no objection to anyone participating in any high risk sport, be it base jumping, skate boarding, mountaineering, or real mountain biking. I do not begrudge a penny of any search and rescue or medical expenses spent on the participants of those sports. UNLESS they could not be bothered with basic safety precautions. When an item of equipment considerably reduces the risk of a sport without reducing the skill and thrill factor, it should become a standard practice.

I don't think hemets are needed all the time and they should not be manditory. If an experienced skier decides that a situation does not warrent a helmet, then that is a calculated risk. If a casual skier decides helmets are too fluffy, then that is ignorance. (no offence meant)

Trencher

Trencher wrote:personal risk management.

Absolutely agree. Personally I've held out for years but will be wearing a lid (most of the time) this year. I'll choose dependent on the conditions :-

Icy, crowded pistes = helmet on, for sure.
Blue sky powder day in mid-January on a lonely mountain = hair down!

A couple of years ago I badly twisted my neck while falling in powder - it's possible that a helmet would have increased the forces on my neck and made things worse... whereas the same accident on an icy piste would have bashed my head and a helmet would have undoubtedly helped me.

But the time has come - helmets are way better than they were and I have 3 sons who are starting to lecture me (they almost always wear lids).

Powderhound

Trencher wrote:

I don't think hemets are needed all the time and they should not be manditory. If an experienced skier decides that a situation does not warrent a helmet, then that is a calculated risk. If a casual skier decides helmets are too fluffy, then that is ignorance. (no offence meant)

Trencher

Well i'm a beginner so i'll digress to an experts judgment, i wasn't implying helmets were fluffy (ok maybe i was), i was saying the world is becoming increasingly nanny like and some of these 'safety' precautions are probably unwarranted.

If i were to be heli-dropped (or whatever it's called) onto the top of a mountain i'd wear a helmet, however i don't think i would on groomed piste, bar hairy conditions as mentioned above.

Let me just say i've never worn a helmet so i don't know how it feels, what follows is conjecture so i'd like your feedback on the difference of wearing one and not. My impression is that it's another piece of gear constraining your head, muffling your hearing and disrupting your spiritual connection to the snow and mountain, maybe the effect is not completely tangible but is it there?

james_gray wrote:My impression is that it's another piece of gear constraining your head, muffling your hearing and disrupting your spiritual connection to the snow and mountain

That used to be my concern - but helmets have really improved over the past few years and there are many models that now leave your ears un-covered. And they're much lighter than they used to be too.

The hearing is a bug for me personally - I can't see how you can ski safely if your hearing is impaired. From hearing skiers on the piste around you (and particularly behind you), to hearing the sound the powder makes under your skis (important clues to the nature of the snowpack), to hearing someone yell "look out"... I think sound is vital.

Unless you have a piste to yourself, an iPod isn't a positive contribution to safety IMHO. As for helmets with wired-in ear-phones... that's helmets as a fashion statement... :evil:

Powderhound

Can anyone tell me if it's obligatory for under 14 year olds to wear helmets in Austria - I have one of the English teenagers mentioned previously who is not at all happy at the prospect!

Jo wrote:Can anyone tell me if it's obligatory for under 14 year olds to wear helmets in Austria - I have one of the English teenagers mentioned previously who is not at all happy at the prospect!

Do you wear a helmet ? lead by example

Also, if this guy wears one - it's cool to wear a helmet - http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=shaun%20white&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi


Personally, my kid's wear one or stay home.

Trencher

Bought a helmet for this year. Not much between my ears but I value it. :oops:

I'm a helmet wearer.
After a fall where my skis travelled faster than my upperbody and my head hit the floor and bounced off a flattish icy piste, I immediately hired one for the remainder of the holiday and bought one for the next holiday.
I had whiplash for a few months after.
It probably won't protect me from breaking my leg or arm, but since I am still nervous when having to ski fast to get the momentum to go over a hill, I shall always wear it.
And since it's a horrid powder blue colour with stick on ears, the rest of the party will not lose me. :lol: