Skier dies at Taos Ski Valley

[mustski]

Like many, I skied without a helmet for years. Once you put one in, there is no going back because they are warmer and more comfortable than any other head gear. I did buy one for spring where the insulation comes out not otherwise, I’m sold.

in any case, my heart breaks for the family!

 

[Sheena]

This is so awful. That poor family. Having kids aged 11-13 it really hits home. My kids have always worn helmets, aside from when we just stayed on the magic carpet when they were 3. So for us it's 2nd nature. I have a neighbor though and her parents pay for a week at Snowbird every Christmas week. She takes her two girls two, ages 5 and 11 now, but neither she or her kids were helmets. She does that one week and then maybe 2 days at Beaver Mountain in Logan, UT. I wonder if families who ski that little just dont think it's a concern especially if they are on beginner terrain.

In the case of Taos however, the terrain there is much steeper than other places.

At any rate this story just crushes my heart for the family for the sister who found her.

 

[liquidfeet]

I wasn’t there but my friend was on the lift with ski patrol when the call came in and she said it was right off Chair 1, straight down to the trees on Whitefeather, to the left of the top of Porcupine, about 40’ from the chairlift.

View attachment 22750

From what I remember of this trail, it's a green but it still would be somewhat steep for wobbly skiers. If the skier is making inconsistent turns, either in a wedge or making wedge christies, if she doesn't know how to complete those turns, and is unable to stop by turning uphill, then there will be quite a bit of speed gain by the bottom where the trail turns to skier's left. A braking wedge on this trail won't be strong enough to stop or slow a skier who can't complete her turns to slow her speed.

It sounds like she ran into the trees straight ahead as the trail turns instead of going left to stay on the trail. She must have been going quite fast at that point. I wonder how effective a helmet would have been, given the speed she might have been carrying. So sad.

 

[liquidfeet]

/////

 

[Lmk92]

I wonder how effective a helmet would have been, given the speed she might have been carrying. So sad.

I wondered that as well. I've never been there, but, looking at the map, it seemed like she must have been going very fast when she lost control and suffered such trauma. Poor kid.

 

[MissySki]

What I have read most recently is that a helmet protects you from injuries up to like 12mph.. which was a bit of an eye opener to me personally. However, who knows if it's at least enough to stop the worst of the worst from happening even if you are still severely injured at that point. I think that's the worst part if one weren't wearing one.. the unknown of whether it could have helped at all or not. I'd much rather have one on and that wasn't enough than not have had one on and those left behind having to wonder about that decision forever.

 

[floatingyardsale]

Most of the research on helmets says that they're best at turning incidents that would have resulted in minor injuries (bumps, lacerations) into incidents that don't; the data is less clear on major crashes (speed is still bad for bodies.)

Poor girl, and how horrible for her sister.

 

[MissySki]

Most of the research on helmets says that they're best at turning incidents that would have resulted in minor injuries (bumps, lacerations) into incidents that don't; the data is less clear on major crashes (speed is still bad for bodies.)

Poor girl, and how horrible for her sister.

I mean.. I've seen people post pictures of helmets with huge cracks in them from falls that they walked away from and had no issues whatsoever. I can't imagine the impact that it would take to split a helmet in half would only have resulted in a minor bump or laceration to one's bare skull?? But I guess there are many types of impacts and falls too. There was no mark on my last helmet, and I didn't think I fell very hard or even bumped the back of my head when I fell.. but I still ended up with a mild concussion after being hit and knocked down onto my back by another skier earlier this season.

 

[Trailside Trixie]

This is sad. I'll never forget Natasha Richardson who passed away on a bunny hill. I believe she had a helmet on but I might be fuzzy on that detail. She wacked her head and was even lucid afterwards and well... it's all sad.... Skiing is supposed to be fun.

 

[MissySki]

This is sad. I'll never forget Natasha Richardson who passed away on a bunny hill. I believe she had a helmet on but I might be fuzzy on that detail. She wacked her head and was even lucid afterwards and well... it's all sad.... Skiing is supposed to be fun.

Actually, I thought she did not have a helmet on? She also refused initial medical care..

That was definitely sad all around as it seemed to be a fall one wouldn’t think would have such dire consequences.

 

[Trailside Trixie]

Actually, I thought she did not have a helmet on? She also refused initial medical care..

That was definitely sad all around as it seemed to be a fall one wouldn’t think would have such dire consequences.

I definitely might be mistaken about the helmet. It was on the bunny hill. This stuff can happen anywhere.

My guy didn't wear a helmet when we met. Soon after I insisted.

Every little bit helps

 

[floatingyardsale]

I mean.. I've seen people post pictures of helmets with huge cracks in them from falls that they walked away from and had no issues whatsoever. I can't imagine the impact that it would take to split a helmet in half would only have resulted in a minor bump or laceration to one's bare skull?? But I guess there are many types of impacts and falls too. There was no mark on my last helmet, and I didn't think I fell very hard or even bumped the back of my head when I fell.. but I still ended up with a mild concussion after being hit and knocked down onto my back by another skier earlier this season.

Sure, but statistically, most of the benefit of the helmet is at lower speeds; splitting helmets is relatively rare. It's good to wear it for even the little bit of high speed risk mitigation, but if the girl collided at speed with a tree it might not have mattered that she had a helmet at all. I still think they ought to be bundled as defaults in rental packages.

 

[Chuyi]

@MissySki Natasha Richardson had a slow bleed. She checked out OK when evaluated then declined to go to hospital. The protocols for head injuries are a lot better these days.

The Importance of Ski Helmets: Safety, Systems, Data

Skiing and snowboarding are thrilling winter sports that offer unforgettable experiences on the slopes. However, these activities also come with inherent risks. To mitigate these risks, investing in a high-quality ski helmet is paramount.

www.snowcampseu.com

 

[Amie H]

Yes,

What I have read most recently is that a helmet protects you from injuries up to like 12mph.. which was a bit of an eye opener to me personally.

Yes, saw this data in a recent SKI (online) magazine article. I thought about this thread after reading that. So even helmeted, if she was moving fast, still would have been a bad outcome.

Here is the (timely) article from earlier this week:

This 50-Year Study Reveals Surprising Insights on Ski Helmets and Injury Prevention

Jasper Shealy's groundbreaking research in ski safety has reshaped our understanding of head injuries on the slopes.

www.skimag.com

 

[Christy]

Yeah I think where a helmet is crucial is for the more mundane, if we want to call it that, falls. Like my husband's former boss who unbuckled his helmet to take a call when on the lift, didn't rebuckle, then got tangled up with someone else getting off the lift, and whacked his head on the ice as the helmet went flying. He had a traumatic brain injury and wasn't right for a year.

 

[diymom]

I will say that going from the Pioneer lift in the beginner area to Whitefeather (the easiest way down from the top for those who haven't been there) always seemed like a decent jump to me. One is fairly wide and quite gentle. The other is a bit steeper (than Pioneer) to start, and then a cat track with people often jumping in from the sides at many places along the way. A newbie who feels comfortable on Pioneer and decides to go try a longer green might not be fully prepared for what they are getting themselves into. I think lessons are always important for newbies, but at bigger hills like Taos, I feel it is even more important to have an instructor gauge if you are ready to move up and then be there to break it down into manageable chunks with appropriate reminders of using new skills to ski in control. But unfortunately that isn't something you always find out until you get to the top of the lift. A green is a green, right?

 

[edelweissmaedl]

I will say that going from the Pioneer lift in the beginner area to Whitefeather (the easiest way down from the top for those who haven't been there) always seemed like a decent jump to me. One is fairly wide and quite gentle. The other is a bit steeper (than Pioneer) to start, and then a cat track with people often jumping in from the sides at many places along the way. A newbie who feels comfortable on Pioneer and decides to go try a longer green might not be fully prepared for what they are getting themselves into. I think lessons are always important for newbies, but at bigger hills like Taos, I feel it is even more important to have an instructor gauge if you are ready to move up and then be there to break it down into manageable chunks with appropriate reminders of using new skills to ski in control. But unfortunately that isn't something you always find out until you get to the top of the lift. A green is a green, right?

On a similar thought train, it brings me back to our ski club trip there last year. Two sisters were on the trip and had skied my local hill Whitetail in PA and whatnot. Had a little ski break and wanted to get back into skiing. We offered to ride with them to the ski off for Ski Week, but didn’t link up. We connect at the end of the day and find out one sister ends up scooting down towards Whistlestop sitting on her skis and Ski Patrol has to drive her back down to Pioneer. We didn’t realize in advance Whitefeather would be too much.

This year a 60 year old was with our club because her skier brother talked her into it when his wife got hurt before the trip (she was a never ever). I approached her and said she needed to go to the ski school office Sunday morning to explain her situation, because getting to the ski off was going to be a hard no. I couldn’t bear the thought of a more extreme repeat of last year.

 

[Amie H]

I'm quite sure a helmet saved my life re: what ended up being my severe neck injury (extreme herniation of 2 discs) I hit the snow with the front/top of my head (helmet.) However I was going quite fast on a black run at Whitefish called "No Name." One ski hit a pile of powder I didn't notice bc of the sunlight. I think in my case, that pile of powder caused the ski to release, and then I flew forward and down and came to a full stop with my head. I'm guessing the act of hitting that powder and the ski release slowed me enough that I was OK?

The guide I was skiing with remarked, "Wow you were really shredding then I saw you head into that powder." I was keeping up with the group of expert skiers in the group, so we were...all skiing quite fast, at least compared to how I ski now (much more cautiously.)

All of this is food for thought...

 

[TNtoTaos]

I still know a few people who refused to wear a helmet. I also see many younger women/girls in the bathroom spending a lot of time fixing their hair and beanie, then lightly putting the helmet on top. Then I see the same people falling all over with their helmet flying off their heads because their helmets never fit correctly in the first place. It is all laughs until it is not. I don’t think anyone educated me on the importance of a helmet, it was common sense to protect myself, but I guess common sense is no longer common nowadays.

I saw just such a fall when I was at TSV last month. I was on the lift, and saw the skier alraedy down, but her skis were about 20' above her on the slope and her helmet was careening down the slope below her. She was moving, and had a friend with her, so hopefully she was OK. But when I saw that helmet flying....

 

[TNtoTaos]

Yes,

Yes, saw this data in a recent SKI (online) magazine article. I thought about this thread after reading that. So even helmeted, if she was moving fast, still would have been a bad outcome.

Here is the (timely) article from earlier this week:

This 50-Year Study Reveals Surprising Insights on Ski Helmets and Injury Prevention

Jasper Shealy's groundbreaking research in ski safety has reshaped our understanding of head injuries on the slopes.

www.skimag.com

I read this article, too, but again, since we really don't know exactly how she crashed, it's hard to say whether the helmet would have saved her life or not, but it's also possible that a helmet could deflect the impact of the blow, d/t its rounded shape, whereas the cranial bones, esp on the sides, are relatively soft, and collapse pretty easily on impact. A MIPS helmet may possibly have made a difference, esp since it didn't sound like she sustained a neck fracture. So terribly sad.

The second thing I wondered is why a 13 yo seems to have been skiing alone with just a sibling. I wonder if their parents had any idea of the level of skill their daughter had, and whether she was ready to ski unsupervised. While that hill is fairly steep, it's quite wide, and although you do have to turn left at the bottom to avoid running into the trees, it's not a blind turn -- there's plenty of time to see that a turn is coming, and plenty of space to make it in , so I suspect this young skier was totally over her skill level and completely out of control.

That hill just coming off of Lift 1 is fairly steep, and what's interesting is that they opened it up several yrs ago because beginners had been complaining that the only way down was that "scary cat track" (straight ahead past the big map). The cat track is certainly narrower, but it's much less steep than the other hill. Sigh.