So fed up of stories like this every single year. Stupid bloody Skiing.

It's swings and roundabouts though isn't it?

I've been skiing twice and loved it, no damage done but for the life of me, I will never go caving or rock climbing! Those sports/hobbies scare the crap out of me!

I agree - it's a no from me. I tried it once and a friend crashed into me at slow speed and it still really hurt!

My ex-BIL went and on his first trip had to be airlifted off the side of the mountain after breaking his leg really badly and needed multiple operations and pins, etc.

A vlogger I watch is a really good and confident skier, but to see her in tears on a video because an arse had just taken her out and not even slowed down to apologise made me happy in my decision to never do it again!

Quite. Freak accidents.

They happen. No one knows this better than I do.

I was properly taught. I don't own horses - I have neither the time nor the commitment to do so - so I rode other people's in properly regulated conditions.

I was a highly experienced rider, having ridden since my teens. I still met with a freak accident - neither horse nor rider error - just a split-second, unfortunate occurrence that in the wrong circumstances could happen to anyone.

All riders have fallen off at some point. You accept those risks, and if I'd merely shattered an elbow or ankle I'd have been straight back in the saddle. But not after something like this. I'd need my bumps felt if I even considered riding again, although giving up was a wrench, I can tell you. If you go in for risky sports then involved in that participation is an acceptance of those risks.

Ski-ing is one I'd never have been willing to accept.

Natasha Richardson had a freak accident. She was already at the bottom of the slope, with a ski school but lost her balance. She hit her head on the hard, impacted snow and crucially had no helmet. She got up and said she was fine but few hours later started to feel ill and was rushed to the hospital.

Michael Schumacher was skiing off piste and hit a big rock. I doubt he was skiing gingerly down the slope either. There’s a good reason why your travel insurance will be void if you ski off piste. Most average families on skiing trips won’t even dream off going off piste.

Me too - wonder whether we work for the same company? I am also dealing with lots of these reports at the minute. I've never fancied skiing but this work would definitely put me off if I did.

Everything we do in life carries some risk - you have to weigh up the risk versus the reward (or necessity) of doing each thing. For most everyday things we accept the risk unthinkingly, but when something unusual or out of routine comes along, we weigh it up (e.g. "should I make that 100 mile drive this afternoon when there's a weather warning in place?")

Skiing is no different - it's a risky sport, people have to weigh up that risk versus the pleasure of doing it, and make that calculation on behalf of their children if applicable.

Personally, I wouldn't go skiing if I was paid to, but I'm generally a very risk-averse person. If others want to take the risk, good for them - as long as they have insurance in place and don't start crowdfunding if one of their party breaks their neck.

I'm no stranger to the great outdoors and adventure sports. I was a fell-walker, horse-rider and wave-rider - in some cases obsessively so.

An end came to most of that when I broke my spine in a riding accident a few years ago. I'm still struggling and hoping for an op in a year or so's time to fix some residual issues, then at the very least I hope I can go back to surfing and mountain-climbing.

All this shows I'm no shrinking violet. And I would never, ever have touched ski-ing with a bargepole, nor shall I be allowing my DC to go on any school skiing trips. As it happens, he's not interested. He's a lot less interpid than I am, a fact for which I'm devoutly thankful.

I've never forgotten the stories of poor Michael Schumacher and Natasha Richardson. A bit of 'kamikazeeing' is fun, but IMO, the benefits of skiing simply don't outweigh the risks.

I know those risks. I'm extremely fortunate that I'm still mobile and alive.

When it's taught well, skiing is a great activity for someone to learn about risk and safety. When I first learned, lessons always included reading the slope, reading the conditions and making judgments about how you were going to ski something within your capabilities. Also what to do and not do around heavy machinery like lifts and piste bashers, where it's safe to stop and so on. I don't know whether this is the case now as I no longer have group lessons but given that so many people don't seem to ski with even basic common sense, I suspect not.

Edited to add that I crossposted with @Scottishskifun - very happy to see that it's still taught, at least in Scotland.

Why shouldn't it be a big part of their lives? There's nothing odd about that whatsoever. Maybe they grew up around snow in Scotland? Maybe they grew up close to a dry ski slope or a snow dome? Maybe they learned to ski for winter warfare training in the military? Maybe their family have been skiing in the Alps for generations? Or maybe they tried it, loved it, and are now passionate and save their money and holiday time to be able to indulge their passion - what's wrong with that? Why is that odd? I've been skiing for 40 years and have lived in Norway, Canada and the UK. I've known people in each of these countries who are obsessed by skiing, and others who have never set foot in a ski binding in their entire lives. Just because your experience of skiing differs from someone else's, doesn't make theirs any less valid. Skiing and the British have a long, long history (see my previous post), and there are cultural norms that differ from yours. This arrogance of 'ah, I'm from the mountains so you lot can't possibly know about skiing' is pretty tired stuff.

I would actually love to holiday in a snowy mountain place, just not to ski!

Personally, I couldn't think of anything worse than visiting a freezing climate to dress up like a marshmallow and hurtle down a hill whilst hoping not to end up a paraplegic. Each to their own.

There is no essential training for horse riding. If you buy a horse you can do whatever you like with it. In affiliated competition you can be sanctioned if you are unsafe and there are qualification criteria (so you have to be safe at a lower level before moving up) but there are no controls on what you do elsewhere.

It really is more aspirational than an all-inclusive to Spain, or a trip to Center Parcs - let’s be real! People aren’t telling their friends how fantastic their all-inclusive in Spain/CP was and that really should go, too. It’s bog-standard and not aspirational to most. They’re not posting pictures of Spain/CP on social media in the same way as people “show off” their pictures from the slopes. Skiing is very much the holiday/hobby du jour, maybe in future it will be seen as ordinary as your other examples but it’s not at the moment.

Rare incident thing applies.
I wouldn't send my kids on school ski trip, because although they do basics, they can't fully ski.
Comes down to no snow in England.
My SIL broke her wrist playing tennis 😮

I used to work in an A&E of a very large ski slope abroad.

At that time, the biggest cause of spinal fractures were from tobogganing! Think about it, you are sliding along on a piece of plastic, no padding or suspension, bumping along the ground. If anyone hit a bump, or ice etc, the vibration goes directly up your spine!

The next most common person to injure themselves, were young (17-22), light weight females with limited skiing experience. Often skiing in a group and trying to keep up with boyfriends or better skiiers in the group.

There is often bravado, people not having lessons and thinking they are better than they really are. I started skiing at 4 and love it.

Absolutely my kids ski and the worst they’ve had is bruises. Fractured a wrist on a trampoline and a shattered radius and ulna on a bike ride. You can’t mitigate all risk. I think it’s better to teach children how to make safe decisions and ensure proper instruction in the basics.

The Frenchman in the article was a very experienced skier and had been doing it since infancy.

I didn't say they cause accidents.
I was trying to say that it's much more risky for people who aren't brought up skiing and only go occassionally to cause accidents/die.
Could be people from Africa, could be french person who never been taught.

This. Plus the confidence of being somewhere no one knows you/showing off etc.

it’s the same with anything. Over confidence comes with inexperience.

Accidents happen.

Decades ago my DGF a postman ended up in hospital with a nasty dog bite, the man in the bed next to him was a long distance truck driver with a broken leg. My Granny was taking his stuff home to wash etc

They assumed he'd been in a road accident, no he was on foot and was knocked over by a small child on a bike.

Absolutely but that wasn't my point! I was countering the suggestion that Brits cause most of the accidents in the Alps.

Dreadful of ordinary British people to want to be out in blue skies, in the mountains, taking some enjoyable outdoor exercise.

It's the preserve of people in Scandinavia and alpine Europe only. And the rich.

Know your place.

Element of risk applies to all activities. Planes occassionally crash, people die on roads, trampoline injuries etc.
I was almost hit by a car twice last year (drivers weren't looking). Doesn't mean we can stop all the risk.

That is utterly horrifying.

How likely do you think those sort of accidents are? Do you think the risk of something like that happening in a ski resort is much higher than the risk of accidental strangulation in other settings?

I came on this thread in agreement that skiing carries risks and interested - as a generally quite risk-averse person - to discuss how and why we balance risk as parents. However, many posters are greatly exaggerating the risk, which makes it difficult to have a meaningful discussion. Mostly people who have no real understanding or experience of skiing and no real appetite for information beyond that which appears to back up what they would like to be true.