• About and Privacy Policy

Mountaingear blog

Mountaineering gear news, reviews and tests

  • Reviews
  • Mountain Safety
  • Tips
  • About and Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Mountain Safety / Do Ski Helmets Work?

Do Ski Helmets Work?

January 2, 2014 by Jonathan Rosenthal Leave a Comment

ski helmetFollowing on from all of the news about the tragic accident that Michael Schumacher suffered when on a ski trip (in which he hit his head on a rock) there has been some good reporting by the New York Times on how much protection ski helmets offer.

The piece in the times makes for sobering reading. It points out that although the use of helmets has gone up enormously (about 70% of people use them now, compared with only about 20% a few years ago) there hasn’t been much of a reduction in serious head injuries. The reason isn’t that helmets don’t do anything to reduce the severity of an impact, it is just that people are taking bigger risks. As the article notes:

Experts ascribe that seemingly implausible correlation to the inability of helmets to prevent serious head injuries like Schumacher’s and to the fact that more skiers and snowboarders are engaging in risky behaviors: skiing faster, jumping higher and going out of bounds.

Helmets have had some positive impacts. They have reduced the number of minor injuries suffered and they have reduced the severity of very serious accidents. Michael Schumacher’s doctors were quoted widely as saying he would not have survived long enough to get to hospital had he not been wearing a helmet.

The lesson is that although a helmet can help, it doesn’t make you invincible.

Filed Under: Mountain Safety

About Jonathan Rosenthal

Hi
I'm an enthusiastic outdoor type of guy who unfortunately spends far too much time sitting in front of a computer and not enough time out in the hills.
This site is really about my personal passion for hiking and climbing and has nothing to do with my day job. All views expressed here are my own. If you'd like to know more about me please go to my Google page or if you would like to know more about my work visit my LinkedIn profile

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search this site

South Africa’s Otter Trail in the Tsitsikamma National Park in widely regarded as the country’s best hiking trail. And it is with good reason: the spectacular trail winds along the edge of the coast, offering plenty of opportunities for swimming. Each of its huts has spectacular views of the ocean.

Recent Posts

  • Hiking the South African Otter Trail
  • The Nepal insurance scam
  • ‘The bivvy bag probably saved their lives’: couple lost in Cairngorms found safe | UK news | The Guardian
  • At least two (and possibly four) killed on Scottish mountains
  • Five skiers die in Austrian avalanche

Recent Comments

  • Jonathan Rosenthal on The Alpkit Tetri
  • The Alpkit Tetri | Mountaingear blog on Terra Nova Laser Competition 1 Tent Review
  • The Alpkit Tetri | Mountaingear blog on Lightwave Wildtrek 60 Pack Review
  • Bollocky Bill on The Alpkit Tetri
  • Liam on Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 Tent

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in