ski death after man hits tree at Burke Mt.

The Real Bev wrote:

lal_truckee wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

If it's too heavy or the wrong shape/size it may even facilitate the
break.

I think people who give this idea much credence are misinformed about
the weight of an average human head. It'd take a ridiculously heavy
helmet to add significant momentum to the old noggin and facility a
whip-effect neck break that wouldn't otherwise happen.


A thing I forgot -- if it's too loose it can be pushed/knocked backward
(rotated) on the head, resulting in a goodly smack on the back of the
neck, causing a break that wouldn't have happened without the helmet.

Possible but very rare. The typical mechanism of injury to that part of
the spine is axial loading, not a direct blow.

One solution is to cut away the back of the helmet so that it can't bash
the neck under normal circumstances, whatever they are.

And then something else _can_ bash the neck.

--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

, Mary Malmros dropped this bomb:

The Real Bev wrote:

lal_truckee wrote:

The Real Bev wrote:

If it's too heavy or the wrong shape/size it may even facilitate the
break.

I think people who give this idea much credence are misinformed about
the weight of an average human head. It'd take a ridiculously heavy
helmet to add significant momentum to the old noggin and facility a
whip-effect neck break that wouldn't otherwise happen.


A thing I forgot -- if it's too loose it can be pushed/knocked backward
(rotated) on the head, resulting in a goodly smack on the back of the
neck, causing a break that wouldn't have happened without the helmet.

Possible but very rare. The typical mechanism of injury to that part of
the spine is axial loading, not a direct blow.

One solution is to cut away the back of the helmet so that it can't bash
the neck under normal circumstances, whatever they are.

And then something else _can_ bash the neck.

I wear my helmet back to front to make it more challenging.

#317

bdubya wrote:
On 3 Mar 2005 07:16:32 -0800, "TexasSkiNut"
wrote:

Schmoe wrote:
AH wrote:
Was he wearing a helmet?

Why? Will it bring him back? A helmet will not stop your neck
from breaking upon impact.

Ever since Bono & Kennedy hit their trees, news articles almost
always mention whether or not the victim was wearing a helmet. How
relevant it is to the story depends on your point of view.

Or on the injury. Skull fracture, it might be; abdominal impalement,
probably not. (Depending on what the impaling object was...)

Ski helmets are another hype industry taking advantage of people's fears. It
increases ski shop sales & gives helmet & ski companies yet another source
of revenue. The odds of you getting necessary protection from a ski helmet
are tiny. Better odds of getting killed in your car driving to or fro the
resort (love using the word fro, so under utlized in modern society). So
many industries today prey on our fears and try to increase them. Look at
bicycles. I'm 42 and no one I know ever suffered a serious head injury while
riding a bicycle while growing up. And we did insane things. Would it help
your noggin if ya fell off on? Sure, you won't get as cut up or scraped.
Will it save your ass from the crunch of a car tire? I doubt it. You want to
wear a helmet while you ski? Feel free. Support an industry. Whatever. Me, I
like to feel like I'm outside not indoors and the wind in both strands left
on my head.

Schmoe wrote:

Ski helmets are another hype industry taking advantage of people's fears. It
increases ski shop sales & gives helmet & ski companies yet another source
of revenue. The odds of you getting necessary protection from a ski helmet
are tiny. Better odds of getting killed in your car driving to or fro the
resort

Suit yourself.
My helmet is warmer and more comfortable than
any other head ornament I have tried.
Ski all day in the wind and snow and forget about it.
In the spring, just slide open the vents.
Goggles fit better.

You may be right about the safety stats.
I've never bashed it yet, but I am slightly
more confident near the trees.

-- Mike Treseler

In article ,
says...
Related to the article, what happens that causes skiers (or boarders)
to hit trees resulting in death? Are people going way too fast
on the very edge of the trail and either catch an edge, or
hit a patch of ice, and into the tree they go?

As an utter novice last year who hugged a tree on day 1: I did it
intentionally. Having never skied as an adult, I reverted to my roller-
rink instincts, which said: "Wow. I'm going too fast and can't really
control myself. Hey, there's something solid which will help me stop!"

Luckily, I wasn't going fast enough to so much as bruise myself, but I
could see how a relative beginner could do roughly the same thing at
higher speed.

(P.S. I bought a helmet right away.)

--
Jay Levitt |
Wellesley, MA | I feel calm. I feel ready. I can only
Faster: jay at jay dot fm | conclude that's because I don't have a
http://www.jay.fm | full grasp of the situation. - Mark Adler

Jay Levitt wrote:


As an utter novice last year who hugged a tree on day 1: I did it
intentionally. Having never skied as an adult, I reverted to my roller-
rink instincts, which said: "Wow. I'm going too fast and can't really
control myself. Hey, there's something solid which will help me stop!"

Luckily, I wasn't going fast enough to so much as bruise myself, but I
could see how a relative beginner could do roughly the same thing at
higher speed.

I learned early on that it's not a good idea to reach out and grab a
sapling on the edge of the trail in an attempt to stop. However, it did
introduce me to powder, off-piste, and glade skiing in one fell swoop.
And it was probably the shortest, quickest turn that I had done to date.


--
//-Walt
//
// There is no Völkl Conspiracy

Schmoe wrote:

bdubya wrote:

On 3 Mar 2005 07:16:32 -0800, "TexasSkiNut"
wrote:


Schmoe wrote:

AH wrote:

Was he wearing a helmet?

Why? Will it bring him back? A helmet will not stop your neck
from breaking upon impact.

Ever since Bono & Kennedy hit their trees, news articles almost
always mention whether or not the victim was wearing a helmet. How
relevant it is to the story depends on your point of view.

Or on the injury. Skull fracture, it might be; abdominal impalement,
probably not. (Depending on what the impaling object was...)


Ski helmets are another hype industry taking advantage of people's fears.

Then don't wear one.


--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.

Mary Malmros wrote:

Then don't wear one.


I don't. Isn't that obvious? What's your point? You don't like me sharing my
point of view? I thought that's what usenet was about. My bad.

Schmoe wrote:

Mary Malmros wrote:

Then don't wear one.



I don't. Isn't that obvious?

Oh, it's quite abundantly clear.

--
Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield, other days you're the bug.