More Skiers & Snowboarders are wearing ski helmets in Montana
By AMANDA RICKER, Chronicle Staff Writer
Jay Wilson, 18, started wearing a ski helmet this winter because helmets are lighter and more comfortable then they used to be.
Pam Meunier, 55, started wearing a helmet in 1998 after Sonny Bono died when he hit a tree skiing.
Judy Hovan, 62, wears a helmet because “you just never know” when it might come in handy.
“At my age, I figure I can’t afford to lose any more brain cells than I’m already losing,” Hovan, of Ennis, said.
The three skiers — along with most of the riders coming off the Bridger Lift at Bridger Bowl Ski Area last week — wore helmets.
ERIK PETERSEN/CHRONICLE Nearly 50 percent of all skiers and snowboarders in the United States wear helmets these days, up from about 25 percent during the 2002-2003 ski season, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
Turns out it’s a rapidly growing trend.
Nearly 50 percent of all skiers and snowboarders in the United States wear helmets these days, up from about 25 percent during the 2002-2003 ski season, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
Two-thirds of kids age 14 and under wear ski helmets. Almost that many skiers over the age of 65 wear them, too. Younger adults in the mid-age range and novice skiers and snowboarders are the least likely to put one on.
Some ski resorts now require helmets, at least for staff and beginners.
Vail Resorts, which includes five major ski resorts in Colorado, California and Nevada, began requiring all employees and ski school students this year to wear helmets while skiing or snowboarding, the New York Times reported earlier this month.
Wearing a helmet could reduce the chance of sustaining a brain injury by 50 to 80 percent, Stewart Levy, who a Denver studies neurosur head – injuries geon among skiers and snowboarders, told The Times.
But helmets do have limits — they’re most effective at providing protection from a direct blow to the head at speeds of 12 mph or slower, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
The average speed of adult skiers on a wellgroomed intermediate run (where most fatalities take place) is on the order of 25 to 40 mph. And at those speeds, a helmet will not matter.
And so, at least in Gallatin County, whether or not to wear a helmet is still left to personal choice.
None of the three public Gallatin Valley area ski resorts — Bridger Ski Area, Big Sky Resort or Moonlight Basin — require anyone to wear helmets. Moonlight, however, does require ski patrol staff to wear helmets while doing avalanche control checks.
“It’s definitely valuable to have a helmet, but for a lot of folks it is kind of a personal decision and we’ve kind of kept it at that,” said Doug Wales, marketing director for Bridger.
Bridger, Big Sky and Moonlight all have helmets available for rent.
Bridger rents helmets for $5 a day and every year, Wales said, more and more people are willing to pay a bit more for the added protection.
It’s the same at Big Sky, said spokesman Dax Schieffer. Helmet rentals this season are already twice the level they were last season.
“Considering we still have February and March ahead of us, we very likely could triple last year’s helmet rental use,” he said.
Over the past 10 years, there’s been an average of 39 deaths per year in the United States from snow sports, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Head injuries are the most common cause of death.
And in addition to safety, wearing a helmet also has its “techie” bonuses.
Helmets are not only far lighter these days, said Greg Pack, general manager at Moonlight Basin, but they can come equipped with speakers and hookups for iPods and cell phones.
In some states, helmets might some day be required.
Last week, a California state senator introduced a bill that would require children under 18 to wear a helmet on the slopes. Like the state’s bicycle helmet law, failure to do so would result in a $25 fine for the child’s parents.
In Europe, Austria has passed a law requiring kids under 15 to wear a helmet on the slopes.
In France, it’s not required, but nearly 90 percent of children under 12 wear a helmet — the result of a long public relations campaign by the association of French ski area doctors.
Big Sky’s Schieffer said helmets aren’t just a smart idea. They’re part of the standard gear.
“I wear a helmet when I raft, I wear a helmet when I mountain bike,” he said, “It simply makes sense to wear one while exploring Lone Peak on skis.”
Photo Credit: ERIK PETERSEN/CHRONICLE Nearly 50 percent of all skiers and snowboarders in the United States wear helmets these days, up from about 25 percent during the 2002-2003 ski season, according to the National Ski Areas Association.
SOURCE: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/articles/2010/01/25/news/099helmets.txt
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