Windjackets (I'm the one with the beard)
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IIRC in all the recent high profile accidents the skier was wearing a helmet.
Natasha Richardson - on beginner slopes?
Never did but would now.
Having whacked my head on a pile of ploughed snow (actually ice boulders by that point in the season) following a slip on a random ice patch I know how much better it is to just bounce back up and get on with your day rather than nurse a splitting headache.
Bear in mind that once out there the learning curve is very steep, when I was learning with the ESF we were only on the slopes for a couple of days before getting taken down all the fun backwoods stuff. Don't get me wrong, they don't take you beyond your abilities but they do encourage progression. It's only inevitable that [i]someone[/i] will do the comedy 'wrap yourself round a tree' manoeuvre.
Well that shows the rarity that you need go back 5 years to find an example.Natasha Richardson - on beginner slopes?
IIRC in all the recent high profile accidents the skier was wearing a helmet.
Is this due to the increase in helmet use or the increase in accidents?
Or "person dies from head injury whilst wearing no helmet" is considered less newsworthy for some strange reason?
Does anyone know if ski helmets are like Motorbike helmets, in that they should be replaced after a big impact?
Or..... are they simply plastic shells with foam linings?
a few years back i whilst on a blue slope i caught the edge of the board and without warning went flying backwards. i came to ( no idea how long i had been lying there..... five minutes? more likely 30 secs, but still.....) not knowing where i was. took me a minute or two to compose myself. got to the bottom and removed my helmet to find a 12cm crack in the back of of it.
wasn't caning it or showing off. was literally JRA.
the number of folks wearing helmets now outweighs those without in the German and Austrian resorts i visit. for this reason as much as any i would say it is worth wearing a helmet. i'm quite confident on my board, i'm less confident ion other people's ability to stop in time.
the pros outweigh the cons as far as i am concerned....
warm noggin. doesn't slip like a beanie. no cold forhead due to a gap (obviously depends on the helmet/goggles combo) letting in wind. safer.
Skiing in Scotland I got a bit nervous of the rocky patches in the thin "snow" (read "ice") I encountered as a beginner, so I wear a helmet.
This is not scientific but tbh it's that or a hat, why not wear one*
* Yeah I would like to see some hard data to at least back up the "if you crash you'll die less with a helmet on" assumption - not too bothered by the "skiing with a helmet on will make you ski like a moron" as I'm not very good at skiing anyway, hence the helmet.
Rockape63 - MemberDoes anyone know if ski helmets are like Motorbike helmets, in that they should be replaced after a big impact?
Or..... are they simply plastic shells with foam linings?
They're usually expanded polystyrene foam, same as cycle helmets. These should also be replaced after a big impact.
The foam compresses, as designed, and becomes ineffective in a big smash. The outer shell is more solid with a ski helmet and less just a thin bonded layer on the foam, so less likely the foam will crack in a smaller impact like cycle helmets can do, but still it would be worth checking for cracks.
Ski helmets serve additional functions though. They usually have a warm fleece liner, ear coverings and sometimes adjustable vents, which along with the larger head coverage shape all helps keep the head warm. Which is one of the major reasons I wear them. A white out blizzard in freezing conditions is miserable with a woolly hat.
Oh and goggles fit them quite well.
