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.

that's not what it means 🙄

Yeah exactly. We have alsways skied an cycled with our kids and I scuba dive etc. My poor sister, who did no physical activities, died overnight in bed due to an undiagnosed heart issue. Proportionality and risk awareness vs risk averity is key for me.

More importantly don't combine any of the previous activities with the latter.

I think to be fair what ski resorts are doing does not help. There is a very, very steep black piste called Harakiri in Mayrhofen and the resort keeps on advertising it everywhere and you can even buy a t-shirt saying 'I survived Harakiri'. Obviously the piste is full on skiers who should stick to easy reds, because it is advertising as a tourist attraction rather than a place where only a handful of skiers should go.

It's not right at all, but technically, every time I go out for a jog, I am taking a risk. Because I am female, I am alone, I run in mainly very quiet places. We all know what could happen.

You can't give up on life just because there's a risk. You risk your life every time you go to work if you are looking at it that way.

I don’t tbh. I don’t even know where I’d buy such a thing. Tbh if you were in a serious accident it’d be an air ambulance to NHS hospital. Anything less would be a first sided on site and getting in a car or possibly an ambulance to local hospital. I don’t really think insurance would cover you if you could get nhs treatment. I think you can get insurance for the kit and I have a friend who is a dentist who has his hands insured against breakages and injuries.

Ladders, stairs, taxi i can get how accidents happen.
But how did someone even end up in icu from sex?

This really depends on the person.
If people have annual policies with Winter cover it does tend to include the UK - ours does.
If doing a lot of back country skiing which is what it's considered to be then many who do this have specialist insurance like BMC.

We don't have it for the rescue/snow patrol lift off the mountain but incase of injury/inability to work etc.

Its quite common, bleed on the brain from the exertion ( men )

If you have a annual multi-trip policy with Winter cover then it usually includes the UK most people don't realise as they don't check home countries on policy documents.

That's so embarrassing. No wonder people can't do a simple risk assessment same as OP who just "feels" skiing and marathon running is dangerous without any data to back it up. It helps though to justify just sitting on your couch because that is actually pretty safe.

After seeing footage of professional skier Gernot Reinstadler being literally sliced in half at the groin by the safety barrier, I've been put off skiing for life. I'm sure accidents are few and far between but I'll never get that image out of my head.

I did check my annual policy and it’d only cover me in the UK if I was 100 miles from home and booked at least 1 night of accommodation. So for us a standard day trip to Glenshee wouldn’t be covered possibly if going further afield but we don’t tend to.

Bless her. It's just so sad when someone dies so young for no good reason.

You can't life like saying you're not going to do something incase of accident, it would cause a crippling level of anxiety

Michael Schumacher. 😔An experienced sportsman at the peak of his strength, health, flexibility, and reflexes. Wearing a helmet.

He was skiing off piste and a hit a big rock. Off piste always comes with much higher risks. He was not pootling down a leisurely green.

I've never had winter sports cover in Scotland. It's no different to hill walkers, climbers, horse riders, car accident in a rural area. You'd be transported best way possible and treated under the NHS.

Winter sports cover is just an additional premium because the insurance companies recognise you are more likely to be injured. And if you need hospital care or have to rearrange flights home etc

We have just come back from skiing with two children (age 10 and 12) yes there is a risk, as with everything in life. Again, like all aspects of life you get the crazy person who doesn’t follow rules and skis far too fast with no control, I see this every time! I was thinking why can’t there be a compulsory online course that all adults have to take, in their native language, similar to a speed awareness course, to highlight the dangers, making sure skiers are looking ahead, how to make a judgement on speed (or even there should be a limit on speed) knowing where to stand in a safe place if waiting for someone, basic rules on the slope etc etc. Consequently a ski pass can only be bought if this course has been completed! At the moment it’s a free for all… I can’t believe something like this doesn’t already exist. It is then up to the parents to educate their children on skiing safely. It can be done. I am an extremely cautious person but I too worry about fast idiots skiing into me. I always ski at a pace I can stop at if needed! Very upsetting for the parents of this poor boy.

That's not really comparable to someone on a ski holiday.

For example:

After seeing footage of professional driver Anthoine Hubert sustaining unsurvivable injuries, I've been put off driving for life. I'm sure accidents are few and far between but I'll never get that image out of my head

Gernot was racing.

Yes, skiing accidents happen. Yes, it's good to constantly review our attitude towards this risk. However, we need data not hyperbolic anecdotes if we are to draw any conclusions.

Ive never heard of Gernot Reinstadler but Wikipedia says the holes in the safety netting have been reduced after his accident.

Like every sport has got safer over the years usually after soon poor sod has had a horrific accident.

I’d agree with you I think the poorest in society often turn to cigarettes, alchohol, drugs. All relatively cheap methods of escapism when life is shitty.

I saw a documentary in Eastern Europe where they were drinking some crazy poisonous concoction that’ll make your teeth fall out and you become really shakey and eventually kill you. It’s a cheap high though as it’s a couple of euros. What’s more thrilling than Russian roulette?

don't worry, even if you are caught in an avalanche, I doubt you'll ever manage to reach his speed

Do you allow your children to cross a road, ride a bike, go swimming or perhaps you wrap them in bubble wrap and fear everything. Sound like you are loads of fun

Thats good to know - wouldn't have ocurred to me

It is true it will cover the UK. But only any additional costs over the NHS.