Could skiing be potentially fatal?

I suppose if you were to land a certain way, on your head for example, it could be. Have any of you witnessed/know of any fatal accidents from skiing?

I have seen some pretty whacky things on those extreme sports gone wrong programmes, but the ones I saw they seemed to live. I suppose if you flew off the top of the mountain over a massive drop, then skiing could be fatal :S

I have witnessed a man being stretchered away with a broken neck....but i was unsure what happened to him after that. he managed to tumble off a ledge and damaged himself on some exposed rock. That was one nasty accident.

Also when i went skiing with my school a guy came off the piest and soared into the forest, wasn't a fatality but that was the end of his holiday, second time skiing and the guy bombed downa red run, probly got what he deserved.

Sounds nasty, I wouldn't be too pleased if I got injured, after investing all teh money into teh trip :(

My dad once told me he seen a guy hit a tree which was sadly fatal for him,

ouch

thats what i said...

I've seen a couple of people stretchered away in Austria, that looked quite bad. I wouldn't think any of them were fatalaties but it could easily happen. I once fell on a very steep slope and slid down some of the way backwards at a high speed. As I was sliding down the top of my head missed a solid pole in the ground by just a few inches, I wasn't injured at all but hate to think what would have happened if the top of my head hit a pole at high speed.

I've seen a couple of people stretchered away in Austria, that looked quite bad. I wouldn't think any of them were fatalaties but it could easily happen. I once fell on a very steep slope and slid down some of the way backwards at a high speed. As I was sliding down the top of my head missed a solid pole in the ground by just a few inches, I wasn't injured at all but hate to think what would have happened if the top of my head hit a pole at high speed.

Sounds nasty, just shows you really how easily it is to injure yourself in a sport such as skiing.

Yeah I agree Michael.

Whenever I go skiing I wear a helmet just incase, you never know what can happen.

Theres so many times where someone cuts me off and I almost run into them.. >_<

I agree, wearing a helmet is a very good idea.

Yeah, always wear a helmet.

Not really a ski realted accident but there was a gut that got to the top (about 12000 feet)and passed out. i found out later he went into a coma from shock(lack O2 to body tissue). must have had somew bad hypoxia or something, not sure what happend weather it was the elevation or what. sucks for him, he was only about 40

Could skiing be potentially fatal?

I suppose if you were to land a certain way, on your head for example, it could be. Have any of you witnessed/know of any fatal accidents from skiing?

I didn't actually witness this happening, but last yr a woman about 70 somethin yrs old was a good skier, and went on one of the double black diamonds at Perfect North Slopes, and crashed into a tree, and died. It was on the news and everything.

my dad is a ski ski patrol at heavenly and there is a run called the face which is a double black and is all moguled out and there are parts on it where if you fall you tumble a couple hundred feet into some trees or the towers. and sadly there is quite a few fatalities up there
early this year a guy in his early 20s fell 40 feet on some rocks off a chair lift and died.

if you hit a tree, yes it can be,
but anything can be fatal

skiing is a relative save sport, it everytime depense how your ski ;)

In my life time I injured 3 times my left knee (3x cast for 5 weeks), broke my enkle and broke my nose, and a lot of small injuries.

But I love to ski and love to challange myself o:)

Yea it can be a dangerous sport if you are not careful and try to ski something which is beyond your ability.
But sometimes there are just too many people on one run, thats why I bought a helmet at Christmas time. To protect myself from the lunatics!

Yea it can be a dangerous sport if you are not careful and try to ski something which is beyond your ability.
But sometimes there are just too many people on one run, thats why I bought a helmet at Christmas time. To protect myself from the lunatics!

Yea there are many of them! helmets r a good investment, however it is quite true that skiing is prtty safe and its kinda rare to die doin it...but it happens

someone was killed at a resort some hours away from me by some crazy skiier hitting her.. watch your back before you turn so you don't get hit by some crazy people

At my resort someone dies almost every year. Its always hitting trees on easy slopes or falling on their heads. Normally its someone from the uva ski team

ya at my resort we have already had three deaths
1from chairlift, 1 from hitting a tree, and 1 from launching himself into a boulder

It could kill you if you hit a tree quickly, land one someone, or get landed on. Falling off a glacier is also deadly.
Hey line, what are the black runs like in steepness in degress?

We have on average about 2 deaths a year at Whiteface, mostly people skiing beyond their limits. It hits home when you see an entire bus tour group sitting on the middle of a hard packed black diamond 30 feet in with the deer in headlights look.

In the Cascades the big danger is avalanche.

At Mount Baker six people died in a tremendous avalanche in 1999. The skiers and snowboarders were out of bounds trying to poach a fresh run. An enormous cornice broke off and triggered the slide. All six were almost certainly killed instantly from the crushing weight of the snow.

We've even had in bounds avalanches occasionally. Last year a skier died in an in bounds avalanche at Alptental, my local ski hill.

There are always dangers in a sport like skiing, but you can generally help yourself by being prepared. when you are a beginner, dont go for the big name resorts where the pistes are always full, come to a resort like St Gervais where you can enjoy learning without the worry of crashing into someone else.

As you progress you need to keep in mind your own limitations, not push yourself too far when you aren't ready.

Then when you get good, the danger lies off piste, with avalanches a constant threat (a friend of mine got killed in a slide a few years back), but again, by arming yourself with avalanche gear and knowledge of how to use it, you can reduce the risk.

But hey, the danger is why its so much fun isn't it?

But hey, the danger is why its so much fun isn't it?

Amen

Yea it can be a dangerous sport if you are not careful and try to ski something which is beyond your ability.
But sometimes there are just too many people on one run, thats why I bought a helmet at Christmas time. To protect myself from the lunatics!

Helmets are pretty much the norm now. I bought a brain bucket three years ago after being clipped from the rear two weekends in row.

Skiing can be extremely dangerous, but only you (we)can make it so.

What ever happened to the Skiers code??

Here's an interesting article from the Independent, dated January 7 1998:

"But despite the publicity given to these two high-profile deaths, and a perception that skiing has become progressively more dangerous, it actually claims few lives compared to other participator sports. Lethal accidents almost always happen when skiers leave safe areas. Dr Michael Turner, chief medical adviser to the British Ski and Snowboard Federation, who has compiled statistics on the relative dangers of different sports, says that downhill skiing has an injury rate of just 2.6 per 1,000 participant days - roughly the same risk as table tennis, and half that of golf. Rugby, on the other hand, with an injury rate of 95.7 per 1,000, and soccer, at 64.4, are far more perilous. ... David Hearns, spokesman for the Ski Club of Great Britain, said the vast majority of fatal accidents occur off-piste, with about half of them caused by avalanches. The remainder take place when skiers fall off a precipice or over the edge of a ravine, or hit a tree, pylon or hut. Collisions between skiers are extremely rare."

I found this article at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_/ai_n9650181

This tracks with my personal experience: I've had far more injuries from playing soccer than from skiing. I've seen one guy blow his ACL skiing, but I've seen several Tendon rips, two ACL tears and broken bones (I've broken two bones playing keeper) playing soccer. The only thing that makes me wonder about the article is that it's from the Independent (a UK publication) and refers to Football as Soccer...

This article is 10 years old, but I imagine that the statistics are still relatively accurate.

did you know that you are always ten feet away from somthing that could kill you so i guess everything has a fatality rate but i wouldnt let it keep you from skiing the chances of it hapenging are exteremly slimm