Is it just me or has the skiing accident and death rate gone up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. I am. Seeing this. Perhaps it’s more the novices as well but also lack of training or sign posts. The poor woman was checked after her accident and cleared and then did right thing after more severe s/s and then surgery so perhaps it was surgery related? So sad! Still remember Natasha Richardson and a bunny slope but head to ice

The ones I remember are Michael Kennedy and Sonny Bono because I was skiing that week.

I remember Natasha Richardson.

None of them had on a helmet.

Lynn Ban was wearing a helmet. If you watch the IG story where she's telling what happened she said so. I'm amazed that could end in death.

But I thought she had the surgery, survived, and was doing well- as in, posting stories on insta about what happened. And then she died like 3 weeks later- but why/ of what??

She was recovering at home after an emergency craniotomy. She wasn’t doing… “Well” yet. It takes quite a while to recover from that and many things can go wrong, including an additional brain bleed, stroke, etc.

[Anonymous]

I know 2 boys from my high school class who died in separate skiing accidents. I have no desire to go skiing.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I feel like there are more this year: the Williams freshman track student, freshman in high school, 12 year old boy.

[Anonymous]

Have conditions been icier than usual in certain areas? Wonder if this year's weather could be a factor.

[Anonymous]

Look at the one post that actually showed some data. 22:46 on page 1. A reality show star’s death and your subjective observations about reckless kids and icy conditions is just speculation. Fatalities and injuries plummeted due to covid and then went up as ski areas opened, but are roughly stable for the past 10-20 years. Overall, they have gone down in the past 3-4 decades

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0020138323004916

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have conditions been icier than usual in certain areas? Wonder if this year's weather could be a factor.

I bet it’s just because of more of those snowboarders

[Anonymous]

There are way more skiers these days. Doubt the “rate” has gone up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good article “ Studies show that helmets reduced non-serious head injuries, such as minor concussions, by nearly 70 percent in the 17 seasons between 1995 and 2012. But to Shealy’s amazement, there was no change in the number of fatalities. “The question became,”he says, “Why aren’t helmets saving people’s lives?”
From the somber task of reviewing more than 2,000 death certificates, Shealy knows that of the average 45 people who die skiing each year, the average fatality is a male traveling at high speed on a blue run who collides with a fixed object (usually a tree).”


https://www.skimag.com/gear/50-year-stud-on-helmets-and-injury-prevention/

Doesn't your brain move inside your skull causing injuries even with a helmet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. But last January my DH's close friend messed up his knee skiing so badly that he was on crutches and had a weird thing around his leg for months. Many months. His wife wants to ski, so they are back on the slopes this month.

We are getting older, so more of our cohort is having knee injuries. If you ski long enough, you will eventually need to get an ACL/MCL/meniscus surgery due to a tear. Sooooooo many of my friends in their 40s are getting the surgery after skiing 20-30 years.

Its why I still snowboard in my mid 40s. I've been doing it for 30+ years and I'm a LOT less likely to have a knee injury that requires surgery because I'm strapped to one board. Lots of skiiers with bad knees eventually take up snowboarding in their 40s-60s if they want to keep riding.

That said, snowboarders are more likely to encounter ankle, wrist, and collarbone breaks relative to skiers, IIRC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good article “ Studies show that helmets reduced non-serious head injuries, such as minor concussions, by nearly 70 percent in the 17 seasons between 1995 and 2012. But to Shealy’s amazement, there was no change in the number of fatalities. “The question became,”he says, “Why aren’t helmets saving people’s lives?”
From the somber task of reviewing more than 2,000 death certificates, Shealy knows that of the average 45 people who die skiing each year, the average fatality is a male traveling at high speed on a blue run who collides with a fixed object (usually a tree).”


https://www.skimag.com/gear/50-year-stud-on-helmets-and-injury-prevention/

Doesn't your brain move inside your skull causing injuries even with a helmet?

Yes, but there is the new helmet technology like MIPS and Koroyd that minimize negative effects of brain movement when you fall. You want a helmet with these features.

Originally developed by a brain surgeon and a biomechanics scientist, the Mips® Safety System has revolutionized the world of helmet safety. By complementing the helmet with a low-friction layer, designed to move slightly in the event of an impact, the system is designed to help redirect rotational motion away from the head. This is intended to help reduce the risk of brain injury.
https://mipsprotection.com/

Designed for dynamic, real life accidents, and engineered for safety so you can venture further with confidence. KOROYD ultimate protection absorbs more energy and works better than traditional materials because it creates crumple zones by using core tubular technology. This outperforms other materials at every stage of compression, helping reduce the risk of injury.

https://www.smithoptics.com/en_US/helmet-koroyd-tech.html#

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are way more skiers these days. Doubt the “rate” has gone up.

Tell that to the families of the victims!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. But last January my DH's close friend messed up his knee skiing so badly that he was on crutches and had a weird thing around his leg for months. Many months. His wife wants to ski, so they are back on the slopes this month.

We are getting older, so more of our cohort is having knee injuries. If you ski long enough, you will eventually need to get an ACL/MCL/meniscus surgery due to a tear. Sooooooo many of my friends in their 40s are getting the surgery after skiing 20-30 years.

Its why I still snowboard in my mid 40s. I've been doing it for 30+ years and I'm a LOT less likely to have a knee injury that requires surgery because I'm strapped to one board. Lots of skiiers with bad knees eventually take up snowboarding in their 40s-60s if they want to keep riding.

That said, snowboarders are more likely to encounter ankle, wrist, and collarbone breaks relative to skiers, IIRC.

I've been skiing for 36 years and have never had knee issues. How are they busting their knees out? Bad crashes?

[Anonymous]

OMG YES!

There is that 60s singer who was once married to Cher... and that other musician from the 70s and and... that actress who was married to Liam Neeson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are way more skiers these days. Doubt the “rate” has gone up.

Tell that to the families of the victims!

It’s just math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know. But last January my DH's close friend messed up his knee skiing so badly that he was on crutches and had a weird thing around his leg for months. Many months. His wife wants to ski, so they are back on the slopes this month.

We are getting older, so more of our cohort is having knee injuries. If you ski long enough, you will eventually need to get an ACL/MCL/meniscus surgery due to a tear. Sooooooo many of my friends in their 40s are getting the surgery after skiing 20-30 years.

Its why I still snowboard in my mid 40s. I've been doing it for 30+ years and I'm a LOT less likely to have a knee injury that requires surgery because I'm strapped to one board. Lots of skiiers with bad knees eventually take up snowboarding in their 40s-60s if they want to keep riding.

That said, snowboarders are more likely to encounter ankle, wrist, and collarbone breaks relative to skiers, IIRC.

I've been skiing for 36 years and have never had knee issues. How are they busting their knees out? Bad crashes?

If you end up needing knee surgery, its de facto a "bad crash"

That said, not all of them involve high rates of speed. They catch an edge, poor landing after an unexpected jump/bump, fall awkwardly, etc.

Just read r/skiing....tons of posts by skiers:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ACL/comments/1b8uwvs/full_aclmcl_will_i_ski_again/
https://www.reddit.com/r/skiing/comments/qx2fb4/learning_to_ski_after_acl_mcl_reconstruction/

Me personally? I know about 10 people who have had it in the past decade. They were all late 30s to late 40s, had been skiing for decades. It will eventually get you if you ski enough. Great surgeons in UT and CO who specialize in this. I had multiple friends travel out to Aspen for their surgeries....the best in the world: https://www.thesteadmanclinic.com/about-our-clinic