Making the slopes safe
There were 57 deaths during the 2021-22 season and 53 catastrophic accidents causing paralysis, loss of a limb, or serious head injuries in 2022-23 in addition to all other sprains and broken bones. The effects of these devastating injuries to the victims and the people around them are told in the stories at the bottom of this page. Safety is a problem on the slopes that technology and a new approach to instruction fix.
Based on collisions between participants in the Austrian study below, about ten deaths a year in the U.S. are from people colliding into each other. If this were aviation, large scale investigations would be looking for the causes and trying to find solutions. Airlines don’t say that flying is dangerous and they are not responsible, so do it at your own risk.
These risks are considered part of the cost of participation, but people don’t even know the cost because it is so hard to get statistics on the number of deaths and accidents. The problem can be seen on blue runs at busy resorts where most accidents occur. It is hard to believe with the number of close calls and minor accidents that the number of serious accidents and deaths is not much higher.
Technology
People are using apps to track their vertical feet, maximum speed, and in some cases to earn pins to beat their friends, or move higher on a leaderboard. What resorts see as fun gamification is making the slopes more dangerous and exposing then to greater risk.
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This same technology could be used to track skiers speed in slow speed zones and automatically shut off lift access for a period of time. Anyone causing a collision and not stopping could be found quickly and lift access shut off. It is time to get serious about safety and move far beyond, signs, slogans, cameras, and patrollers yelling slow to speeding skiers and riders.
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People will act more responsibly when they know they are being tracked. It might conflict with the culture of freedom, but people have the freedom to enjoy time on the slopes with their family without being in a serious accident or killed.
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Speed
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People cannot drive without training and testing, but they can ski any run as fast as they want without instruction or assessment. In serious crashes, it is sometimes assumed that no one was at fault, "it was just an accident". Maybe no one intends to cause a crash, but skiing out of control is something many skiers do because they do not know how to slow down.
Most people learn from their family and friends or try to ski on their own. They assume it will be easy and expect to quickly be skiing bigger slopes. Their friends take them to slopes that are too difficult before they are ready. This creates a safety and growth problem with 81 percent not returning. The ones who do return usually have trouble controlling their speed because they see the goals as harder runs and going faster.
Beginners need to know what to do before skiing, where to start, how to stop and turn, and how to tell when they are ready for the bigger hills.
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Some resorts have programs for school groups that limits where students can ski until they achieve a certain level of ability. This could be done for other skiers with RFID technology that allows them progress to more advances slopes as their skills develop. Awarding pins and providing a leaderboard type of recognition in the form of a score would motivate participation. It is like a golf score that motivates people to improve as a fun challenge. Having a great safety record could be a competitive advantage for a resort.
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Instruction for control
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Only about 7 percent of all skier visits involve instruction. More instruction would make the slopes safer especially if it focuses on helping guests to ski incontrol. It is the first rule in "Your responsibility code" but it is not worth having rules if people can not follow them.
The average skier only skis about 6 times a season, many are older, out of shape, and not athletic. They often just want to ski more of the resort with their family, with more confidence and control, they are not trying to carve expert slopes at high speeds. Teaching them expert moves is like putting a new driver in a race car.
Traditional instruction is created by top instructors who are very enthusiastic about expert skiing. They attend an international meeting of instructors and compare the technique of top skiers. Instructors who represent their countries have to train very hard to develop expert technique, some are just top demonstrators. In a few countries they even need to ski within a certain time compared to a World Cup racer. This traditional approach can work for enthusiast but makes slopes less safe by not focusing on control for beginner and recreational skiers.
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Stories on safety
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The comments detail many more accidents
Collisions with another person while skiing or riding
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Jackson Hole Skier Collision Death Ruled a Homicide | SKI (skimag.com)
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Fatal Collision: It’s Time to Act - SeniorsSkiing.com
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IS RESORT SKIING GETTING MORE DANGEROUS? - SeniorsSkiing.com
https://coloradosun.com/2023/09/06/fort-lewis-college-slide-with-respect-survey/
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Letter to the editor: It’s time for ski resorts to start putting up cameras | SummitDaily.com
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At least 16 people died on Colorado slopes this season
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This group is most likely to have a fatal accident
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Ski fatalities, while rare, show small but marked increase in recent years (bostonglobe.com)
Colorado ski areas: 5 years of crashes, injuries and hit-and-runs (coloradosun.com)
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Has skiing become too fast and too furious? (telegraph.co.uk)
Hospital reports dramatic increase in accidents at Swiss ski resorts (iamexpat.ch)
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https://www.mcquaidinjurylaw.com/skisnowboard-accident-statistics