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

[ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14427223/British-schoolboy-14-killed-skiing-accident-northern-Italy.html

This poor lad, only 14 years old, crashes headlong into a tree at speed and dies of chest injuries right in front of his parents.

What's so fucking great about skiing? Every year without fail there are stories like this and I'm sick of them. I know someone who became permanently disabled and slightly brain damaged after a skiing accident in his 20s.

As parents we don't encourage our kids to get into cars and drive them at speed round a race track with very little training every half term in February do we? We don't stick them on the backs of race horses and slap their arses and watch them go over hurdles. We don't encourage them to dive off high cliffs into the sea below and hope that they manage to miss the rocks as they land. So why do we continually let them hurl down mountainsides at god knows how many miles an hour, hoping that they manage not to collide with a tree or hit their heads on a rock?

I don't get it. I never will. However 'fun' it might be it can't possibly be worth the stupid level of risk.

Nice to meet you too!

If skiing feels too risky for you, don't do it.

But I don't understand the hand ringing about anyone else having a go.

People cycling on busy roads in cities gives me the heebie jeebies, but I'm sure those doing it are more skilled than me and are assessing the risk. Everything in life carries risks, even lying in your bed.

I didn't think we were talking about a wholesale ban on skiing, but I skimmed the thread and it could be that there are portions of it I missed. I thought this was simply an interesting conversation about our own personal benefits vs. risks calculations, which of course are going to be different for everyone. No one here is necessarily 'wrong'. Boxing is, I think, a different matter but that's another discussion.

I'm already looking forward to the prospect of a good old surf followed by one of the wonderful beach saunas that are currently popping up all over the place. Also, maybe a bit of wild swimming, and if it turns out I can no longer surf, I'll try body boarding instead. And whilst mountain skiing certainly doesn't appeal to me, the cross-country skiing beloved of Scandinavia does look like fun.

If you don't think the risks outweigh the benefits in some cases, there will always be some variation on a theme that looks at least nearly as good.

I hate seeing people cycling on busy roads as well. That is MASSIVELY risky. Probably the riskiest of all. But again, while plenty of sensible cyclists get killed or injured because of drivers who are not paying adequate attention, plenty get killed or injured because of their own stupid and reckless behaviour and thinking that they are above having to heed the basic rules of the highway code. They take huge risks just to get ahead of traffic and avoid waiting at junctions.

Only middle class Scottish people are skiing. Not your ordinary person as you imply.

Yes boxing is another one that frequently makes me put my head in my hands and sigh. Honestly, who'd have thought that yet another poor soul had sustained a serious brain injury from a 'sport' than involves being repeatedly punched in the head?

And everyone always sounds so bewildered and makes all the right noises about how tragic it is, how lessons must be learnt, like there wasn't a pretty bloody high likelihood of it happening eventually. I despair, I really do.

While you're at it, don't forget anyone who 'chooses' to live in towns and cities - respiratory effects of pollution

OP the fact is over half of all accidental deaths in the UK take place within the home. And for some reason people are falling over a lot more. RTAs are also increasing, despite safer cars. It's people not properly taking care in any activity not the activity itself. You are statistically more likely to die accidentally now than twenty years ago the ROSPA report makes for interesting reading.

The marathon runners - cardiac arrest is usually an undiagnosed heart condition that causes the death. Sometimes there can be factors like heat etc which has caused death. And it's not "almost always at least one" runner a year. There's been 13 deaths since 1981. That's one every 3 years. So you are suggesting it's a lot worse than it actually is.

www.rospa.com/news-and-views/preventable-accidents-in-the-uk-are-rising#:~:text=The%20rate%20of%20accidental%20deaths,up%2056%25)%20since%202013.

Horse riding, motorbikes, cycling on the road, driving a car, hockey, rugby There are lots of potentially dangerous activities, im not sure why your focusing on skiing in particular. And statistically, the vast majority of people die at home. Lots of people ski, not just wealthy people, mainly people with a professional income, I grant you, because its expensive.

The odd tragic accident, like the poor boy who died, are unusual and hence why they are reported in newspapers.

I don’t think that’s true. We go to a council run dry slope next to a primary school. All the local kids have done skiing as part of P.E. After school courses / holiday camps are cheap and include equipment hire. I think if a sport is made easy / accessible then there’s decent uptake.

In my own , working class at best, primary we were bussed to Hillend dry ski slope for two terms in p6 to do lessons way back in the 80s. It’s not exactly a new thing.

"Yes boxing is another one that frequently makes me put my head in my hands and sigh. Honestly, who'd have thought that yet another poor soul had sustained a serious brain injury from a 'sport' than involves being repeatedly punched in the head?

Like rugby? Which is actually more dangerous than skiing?
But I wouldn't actually start a thread using someone's child's death to push my agenda without maybe getting informed first.

Exactly. And I'm pretty certain that families who go skiing in the February half term will also be enjoying a lovely holiday in the summer too.

Whether people want to admit it or not, skiing is the preserve of the firmly middle class and the wealthy. I don't know anybody who is a seasoned skier. DH went once on a school trip, and my brother went once as a late teen with friends (requiring surgery on his knee as a result). I can't think of anybody at all who has gone with children. It's just not the norm at all.

God I'd rather die skiing (which I do twice a year and have done for 30 odd years) than die in a car on a road in the UK... which far more people do.

Being out of control and skiing (like an idiot)is as stupid as driving a car out of control and not something I would tolerate from my kids.

Accidents can and do happen, but risk can be controlled. Beyond that, live your life.

@JoyousGreyOrca all the local schools (state) in my area use the dry slope in Edinburgh for ski trips with the kids. Hillend is a Council owned facility, not private, so local schools use it,
I learned to ski there as many of my friends did in the 80s and 90s. So where I live it's not just the preserve of the middle classes.

Im middle class, middle income, I enjoy skiing. I know lots of people who ski, and lots who dont. Equally, I know quite a few people who horse ride. But I have never tried it and couldnt afford it. Same with riding a motorbike, and in that case I wouldn't want to as they exceed my appetite for risk. I also don't play polo or go sailing or own a yacht. Neither do I shoot, like many farming families in rural areas. So what? Not everyone wants to or can afford to do everything. Some people I know still smoke cigarettes. That's crazy dangerous and expensive. All personal choice though.

do you not find it very odd, then, that so many Swedes go to hot countries and love the beaches? that's totally not part of your culture.

Are you brit bashing? ski bashing? or bored?

I’ve been skiing on two school trips and as an adult and had an absolute blast. No-one was injured. No doubt - accidents can happen, but they can happen with any sport. I know of someone whose child went into cardiac arrest playing football, which seems a pretty low risk sport to me.

Agree with posters who say the coast can be just as dangerous as a ski slope if people are not educated in rip tides etc .
I am glad I didn’t read this thread before my DS went skiing with his uni friends. He is not a yuppie though! There was a tragic accident a few years ago at the snow dome in Tamworth . A young boy died I think he was in a toboggan though.

Let's just ban everything, to be on the safe side.

There are a lot of accidents this year. Mostly people caught in avalanches hors piste but not only. There was a nine year old killed on an outing with her class not far from me. But then you look at the hundreds of thousands who ski and have a laugh and build the most amazing memories together - I still ski ( badly) with my dc who are in their 20’s. It’s just wonderful.
You have to hope that you’ll be lucky. So much also depends on who you are sharing the mountain with and being an accomplished skier as we know, doesn’t make you immune to stupid accidents ( Gaspard Ulliel for example).

I'm Scottish, I grew up on a rough council estate in Edinburgh. We learned to ski at primary school at about age 10, on the artificial ski slope, we went up for lessons once a week for a term. I'm the only member of my large family that didn't break a finger but i did get concussion from being hit by the chair lift and witnessed a girl from another school get her coat caught as she was coming off the lift at the first level. It carried on up the hill while she was dangling from it. We all thought it was a good laugh at the time but I've never been tempted to go skiing as an adult.

There’s a lot of “I imagine” statistics there. If you have actual evidence of the injury rate of skiing then share it. Otherwise it’s just that you don’t like skiing (fair enough) so you notice the deaths and injuries. I know a person who was left a wheelchair user for life after a school rugby lesson, a friend whose horse fell on her as a child who was in hospital for months with head injuries as a result and a child relative who was knocked unconscious and had to have surgery after falling off his bike cycling around his local cul du sac.

If reading ski accident stories upsets you then just don’t read them. But you seem to suggest lots of people shouldn’t participate in a sport they enjoy because you personally don’t think it’s worth the risk and you find the Daily Mail upsetting. That’s for you to deal with.

I'm a life long skier and also did 5 seasons working in resort. I've built my career around the sport and in my opinion it's the best experience in the entire world and I am so excited to share it with my 3 year old next year when she is 4. She does ballet and could trip over her foot on the dance floor and cause a life long injury. She could or I could trip off a kerb and cause life long injuries. Yes it can be dangerous, but the health benefits, memories and experiences that you can gain through skiing are amazing and I wouldn't trade them for the world. I learned to ski properly, not just technique but etiquette, how to read the mountain, the rules you should follow so I can be as safe as possible. As long as people are taught this then the mountain should be fairly safe. There are some that don't follow the rules and are the mountain equivalent of "boy racers" and some are just AHs but they are in the minority. If you don't fancy skiing then that's totally fine, but please make sure you don't ever judge a fellow parent as irresponsible for letting their kids enjoy it.

I'm with you. Definitely not for me.

I very much do not mix in skiing circles and yet I know someone who lost their teenager in a skiing accident (and he was very experienced) and several who have broken limbs.

I can't think of many other areas I know such a high proportion of injuries. Horse riding I've known people have a few bad falls but not as serious in terms of long term. Football a few broken limbs but again, not life threatening.

Yes this

People complaining about skiing but will happily watch their dc playing rugby or horse riding

Makes no sense.