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

1Skiing has not been an ‘aspirational’ holiday since the 1980s. People from a huge variety of backgrounds and income levels go on skiing holidays now.
2 Most skiers are well aware of the risk and take out winter sports insurance before they go.
3 ‘Off piste’ is not intrinsically dangerous. It’s an accepted part of the sport . Ski resorts have avalanche warnings ( flashing lights by the lift) if conditions are not advisable for off piste

Typo. Should have said 3400 children were killed/injured in car accidents in the UK in 2022 alone 🤦🏽‍♀️

Not ‘lots’. About 10% of UK population ski. 4% ride horses.

The average cost of a ski holiday exceeds £1k per person. Most families can’t afford that. Over 40% of people can’t afford a summer holiday.

There are all sorts of ill-informed claims on this thread. People don’t seem to understand probability or statistics. Like the fella on Question Time who thought £80k was an average salary lol.

Conversely, just because you know someone who’s been killed or maimed in an accident, it doesn’t mean it’s likely to happen to you. And if you don’t participate in a riskier sport, it doesn’t mean you’re ignorant, obese, unfit or read the Daily Fail.

And yet I don't personally know any doctors who don't ski, whereas most doctors I know will not allow their children to have a garden trampoline. Perhaps there's also an element of classism in that!

Off piste is not outside the rules. All the resorts I know actively advertise their off piste offerings. Some resorts used to put their most popular off piste routes on the piste maps - although I haven't seen this for years (and for good reason I think!)

Of course it is possible to ski off piste irresponsibility and to ski on piste outside your ability level. Ski patrol are pretty good at enforcing the rules, but their effectiveness can vary from resort to resort.

Being young and male is a risk factor as is being under the influence of alcohol. This is true of many activities sadly. You can identify the average age of male puberty in a country by the spike in the accident rate.

Yeah, I've come close to dying in the sea in Devon three times (once as an adult). Worst I've ever done skiing is twist my knee.

Sorry, I wasn’t making myself clear, people without an instructor.

This. I think some people when they hear “off piste” assume you are going full Glen Plake which is very different from the reality which for most people is never out of sight of a groomed piste.

I think that’s down to the individual though. My kids put in a lot of time at the dry slope doing ski camps before they went abroad. Possibly because he’s paid their instructor over there said lots of nice things about their ability and mainly took them on the red runs. They felt quite safe and it was within their ability levels. They did have people out on the slopes, one guy bashed into someone else on a red as should of been on blues and they confiscated his ski pass.

I think it's a very aspirational thing for Brits. It marks entry into the middle class for some. We've had weird looks at parties where p[eople have expressed incredulity taht we don't ski! It just hasn't happened though. We do other outdoorsy things.

I have tried it - lived somewhere where cross country skiing was the thing to do, and got quite good at that. But haven't felt the urge in the last 30 years since!
And yet I have so many friends who ski and have never been injured.
It's not taht I don't enjoy a bit of adrenaline. I love a zip line. But skiing seems like a faff more than anything else.

@Goldenbear, if your excessive posting on mumsnet is anything to go by, you clearly do not see the link.

I can think of nothing worse!

to be fair it is bloody marvellous - whizzing down a slope, maybe doing a bit of a slalom, and then the chair lift back to the top. It is thrilling. Really gets the endorphins racing.

So glad I'm reading this after my daughter is back from her school ski trip. We have never skied as a family, not really fancied it but she had an amazing time and thankfully not one of the kids had any injuries.

As someone who rides horses I don't feel I can comment upon the safety risks of sports. They are pretty much all safer than hopping on the back of an unpredictable prey animal that travels at 30mph and hurtling at solid obstacles.

Isn't the point that you have to have training to do other risky activities like driving and horse riding before you can do the riskier elements. With skiing it seems like you can do a couple of hours of lessons then hurtle down a mountain if you want to when you don't have the necessary skills.

Not sure what you mean?

Going off piste is a perfectly normal thing to do. The instructors take you off piste frequently.

Typical MN posters - forever banging on about NHS resources. It would be interesting to know how many of these people are actually net contributors to the country in terms of the tax they pay as individuals.

We know a few families who ski/used to ski, and within this relatively small sample size, skiers of moderate ability and all young, there’s been one ruptured ACL, one broken leg and very sadly one death, similar to the one described in the OP. I’ve been a couple of times prior to children and did love it, but wouldn’t go now as I would be too scared.

Where I live in the UK skiing is one of the most accessible sports available. The (state) primary school has a dry ski slope in the grounds which is really good. The quality of the instructors is excellent. It’s run by the council and they do lots of lessons/ camps for less than ten pounds an hour including all kit hire.

It is a tough sport but I think it encourages dc to push themselves physically.

It’s a status symbol

Lots of British people are taught to ski at a young age and it's a part of life for them, as is owning a horse and riding. I'm not sure where you go the idea that it's 'aspirational'. It's not expensive to go on a skiing holiday compared with many other types of holidays.

There definitely are other factors at play, not just poor choices and mental health issues. It is much more complex than previously thought.

I am not against people taking part in risky sports or other behaviour. It’s human nature. We’re all different. But I do take issue with people deciding who is more deserving of NHS treatment and in particular the poster who felt they needed to point out that obesity costs the NHS more money. It’s an irrelevant comparison.

One of my Dc has 3or 4 Orthopaedic Clinic appointments a year so over the years I have spent many hours watching people in and out.

Motorbike and football accidents seem to cause the most attendances. A huge number of football incidents all year round. Accidents at work. A big spike of fractures following an Icey spell. And a flurry of ski-ing fractures during the ski season. X-Ray and check up.

The motorbike accidents cause the worst in terms of lengthy very expensive treatment (multiple surgeries, a year in a fixator frame etc)

I would do all in my power to stop my kids getting a motorbike.

Again though 'enjoyable life' to me does not look like skiing or horse riding. 'Enjoyable life' is not only achieved via sports.