[NA] Head injury while skiing

AV8R_87 said:
Helmets work, but not when you drill holes into them to attach a GoPro mount.
Read on Michael Schumacher's (7-times F1 world champion) skiing accident, whwre he fell trying to navigate some rocks. Still pretty much a vegetable out of public sight to this day. The opinion is that the changes he made to the helmet to attach the camera sent the impact forces straight to his skull.
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Ski helmets are bump helmets at best. I doubt you can find anything in science to substantiate your comments. I quit skiing long ago but I use different helmets for different activities including flying, for which I have both bump and crash helmets. Neither would suffer from attaching a helmet cam.
 
Virginia Tech has done some interesting studies on how helmets protect participants in various activities. https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/

I always find discussions on personal safety interesting. I wear a helmet when snowboarding or mountain biking. For some reason I don’t wear a helmet when riding my beach cruiser around town. Played competitive rugby for years and the only protective gear involved was a mouth piece. I’ve split a couple helmets biking and seen friends get concussions while wearing helmets snowboarding and biking. So, my own perspectives on personal safety aren’t exactly consistent.
 
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Bill said:
Did a lot of skiing mid-80’s thru late 90’s nobody wore helmets then. If I ever get back into the sport, I will certainly wear a helmet.
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I remember being on the lift in the late 90s, when snowboarding was really expanding, and saw a coworker slide out on some ice on his board and bounce his head off the ice. I bought a helmet later that week, been wearing one ever since. They're warm, hold your goggles, etc.
Also always wore a motorcycle helmet, even when riding a scooter around town. Helmet has saved my life twice on the street.
 
Depends on the kind of skiing you do. Nobody much worried about helmets for recreational skiers before a few high profile deaths (Sonny Bono and others). I remember blasting through wooded areas at a decent clip without thinking about what would happen if I hit a tree in the process.

Once GPS watches came out, I decided to wear one while skiing. I never really had any idea how fast I was going, but I got on a moderate incline and got into a tuck and went full out. Looking at the data dump, I was doing close to 55MPH during the bulk of the run. That was enough to get me thinking about protective gear right then and there.
 
flyingron said:
close to 55MPH
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Many years ago I hopped on a lift with two other guys who were skiing together.
Turns out they were FAA ground station repair/install guys; we chatted about their work with ILS/VOR/NDB (yeah it was a few years ago) transmitters, radar, etc and they invited me to join them. Nice guys out really enjoying the day.
The first run I thought they were skiing pretty damn fast, lost sight of them; we caught up on the next lift and I notice them passing a mickey around on the way up - they offered me a swig but I flew in (well, and I was skiing) so I declined.
The next run we agreed on an aggressive blue (no moguls but steep). I let them go first and damn! they were skiing the fall line, mostly in a tuck! They waited for me at the bottom, but I said I didn't want to hold them back and we said our goodbyes. I'd love to see what they clocked in at - or hear if they ever crashed. (all no helmets back then)
 
Ed Haywood said:
I roll my eyes when I see guys skiing with GoPros. Because what the Internet really needs is one more video of a groomed blue run at Vail.
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Same reason I don’t have a GoPro on the Cherokee….how many videos do we need of Leadville flights?
 
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AvNavCom said:
Ok, so let's switch it up a bit. How about helmets while flying? I have helmets for .mil flying (two actually, one for pointy-nose and one for helos) and considered getting one of those light civilian flight helmets when I had a tail-dragger, since I didn't entirely trust the structure to hold the harness and I figured off-airport landings and ground-loops might increase the odds of a head-strike inside the cockpit. My Cherokee has a shoulder-strap now, but I suspect it wouldn't stand up too much force. Of course, I'd feel like a dumbass wearing a helmet in a Cherokee, but I wonder if a reasonable argument couldn't be made for one in bad turbulence or to improve survivability in lower-energy crashes. I wonder what percentage of aviation fatalities are due to a head-injury which might have been survivable with a helmet?
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I would guess that many injuries are chest/torso injuries from the yoke if shoulder harness isn’t snug. But what do I know…first thing I did when I bought the Cherokee - shoulder harnesses.
 
Daleandee said:
I don't ski but from riding motorcycles for many years I've learned that, in fact, helmets do save lives. They are not needed until they are.

I believe the same rule applies that is given for motorcycle riders and that is: "if you think you head is not worth putting in a helmet, you are correct" ...
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Same, ATGATT for me. Retired Paramedic who rides. The funny thing I have noticed is that even the Harley rebels have started wearing real helmets in states with mandatory laws. I don't see any of those beanie lids with a fake DOT sticker anymore. I still laugh when I see riders in shorts and flip-flops, but wearing a jacket, helmet and gloves, but anything is better than what we used to see.
 
I rarely ride a friends motorcycle. At my age I have to wear a full face helmet, otherwise my cheeks will flap in the breeze...
 
I’ve done a lot of snowboarding in my day, I’ve done the whole getting out of helicopters in the Alaska range and all. I never wore a helmet and never hit my head. The last two years I’ve taken a trip to snowboard and I reluctantly rented a helmet because it seems it’s the thing to do now and guess what, I hit my head both trips. I really feel like the thickness of the helmet made me hit my head and without on I likely wouldn’t not have hit it. So I can’t say one way or the other but now I guess I just rent it when I go. Plus it keeps me a little warmer. HahaIMG_1734.jpeg
 
simtech said:
I’ve done a lot of snowboarding in my day, I’ve done the whole getting out of helicopters in the Alaska range and all. I never wore a helmet and never hit my head. The last two years I’ve taken a trip to snowboard and I reluctantly rented a helmet because it seems it’s the thing to do now and guess what, I hit my head both trips. I really feel like the thickness of the helmet made me hit my head and without on I likely wouldn’t not have hit it. So I can’t say one way or the other but now I guess I just rent it when I go. Plus it keeps me a little warmer. HahaView attachment 138413
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Maybe it's risk compensation. :)
 
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