Snowboarding

The Ski and Snowboard Helmet Debate Continues

Here’s why I wear a snowboarding helmet: I hit my head once a trip. Every single snowboarding trip I take includes an incident in some glades where I catch an edge, slam my head in the snow, and end up flat on my back emitting a sickly “unnnnghhhhh” noise. As a result, I wear a helmet. Simple as that.

But the topics of whether everyone should wear a helmet, or whether helmets are even effective, are constantly debated. Today, the Montreal Gazette ran an article to add to the “are helmets helpful?” article pile with  a uniquely Canadian perspective. Among the tidbits within the article:

•  33 people have died on Quebec ski hills since 1990, and half those deaths were related to head injuries;
• An estimated 60 percent of Canadian skiing fatalities involve a head injury;
• Crashing into trees was the most common cause of severe and fatal injuries.
• Snowboarders are three times more likely to suffer a head injury than skiers.

You know, maybe wearing a helmet should be mandatory, style be damned. After all, they’re generally mandatory for bikes.

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