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.

@Tabbsi Its not part of our landscape per se (although we do have ski lifts in the lakes and resorts in Scotland) but I would say that many Brits have an enthusiastic love of outdoor sports and we have a pretty long history of skiing. We have artificial slopes all over the country and there is a thriving ski racing scene.

Historically we had explorers who climbed up mountains and skied down them and it was largely the Brits who started the ski holiday concept. This tradition has persisted. And yes I think it is aspirational for some people, for many it’s just a sport that they really enjoy. Our most famous ski racer (Dave Ryding) is from a solidly working class background, as are many who use dry ski slopes. It’s not all middle aged men drinking champers in the fancy resorts.

Awful accident - I feel for the parents. I have skied at least annually for 45 years. Did training on dry slopes before parents first took us to the Alps in early 1980s. Parents skied 30 years from 60s to 90s. Siblings and I have all either lived close to or worked in resorts for a year or two. None of us has ever had an injury. I first wore a helmet 6 years ago when I took my kids skiing, to set a good example. They have done years of ski school and been taught to ski safely. I don’t ski faster than I can stop, and I don’t take unnecessary risks. I love the sport! But my real risk of death or injury? I get around London by bike, am a courteous road user, yet every day I feel I am risking my life while arrogant entitled people in oversized metal boxes try to kill me. I don’t let my kids cycle on the roads, and anyone who does, or has ever close-passed or failed to notice a cyclist, or run one off the road, or parked in a cycle lane, and yet calls out skiing as dangerous, is in my opinion a hypocrite. When skiing, your fate is largely in your own hands. When cycling, it is in the hands of someone else who values your life less than 20 seconds of their time.

I'm with you OP. My DC won't be skiing before they are old enough to pay for it themselves. I won't be paying for horse riding or letting them start rugby either.

Frankly I DGAF what anyone thinks of that.

Totally agree @Lifethroughlenses

I follow the girls’ freestyle scene a bit and GB has two massive recent successes, Kirsty Muir (represented GB in the 2022 Winter Olympics) and Sandra Caune (gold medalist at Winter Youth Olympics that just passed) both very ‘normal’ girls who train/ed at the dry ski slope in Aberdeen - hardly glitzy or glamorous.

and anyone that smokes, doesn't excercise, doesn't eat healthily....... where does it stop?

As sad as this case is, it is a very rare occurrence. I have skied my entire life and it is one of my favourite sports. In 40 odd years of skiing I haven’t had any injuries, and not has anyone I have known. I have brought my children up skiing and they both love it too. Why do you assume that skiing involves hurling one’s self down a mountain out of control? That’s not the case for us at all - we have a high level of control. Fast speeds? Yes, but under control at all times. Also, I actually do let my children do some of the supposedly dreadful things you listed - get on the backs of horses and go charging off, swim in open water, surf in big waves, go rock climbing, race bikes at high speeds? Yes to all - they are taught how to do it safely and coached to a high skill level and then off they go - sports are thrilling and childhood should involve measured risk.

I wonder how many more children are harmed through mental health issues caused by sitting inside being on screens / social media every day, than taking part in invigorating outdoor pursuits? I would never allow my children to be on social media but I don’t judge those parents who do, and it is now proven that SM does significant harm to children.

I agree, that is a dangerously slippery slope to go down (pardon the pun). Anyone advocating certain activities should come with paying for treatment in some form should first present a case as to why any of those activities are a significant burden on our health service, backed up by real world data and peer-reviewed literature.

I believe in the case of motor vehicle incidents involving casualties, the NHS can claim some of the cost back from the offending driver's insurance company.

It’s essentially a middle class badge of honour that’s why. People thinks it gives kids acceptance and inclusion in certain social circles. Bad show really but it was ever thus.

When it comes to discussions like this, I think it is important to differentiate between those who participate in hazardous sports/hobbies and do everything practical to minimise the risk, and those who are careless/reckless/ignorant. The former should not be judged on the publicised consequences of some of the latter. The media love to put images in our head in order to program our thinking and it is important to use critical thinking skills to assess the issue properly, not just lap a story up because it feels good. Given the fact that money, time and resources are limited we should focus our efforts on the major contributors to mortality if we are really concerned about human welfare and risk.

I do 2 of those ‘dangerous’ sports. Been riding most of my life but at the grand old age of 48 I had my first need to have medical attention, a fractured arm.

I have over 500 scuba dives in my log book, no accidents or injuries home or abroad.
i lead an active lifestyle looking after and riding my horse, my weight is with a reasonable level.
i do have the misfortune to have early osteoarthritis and nothing to do with ‘dangerous’ sports. I’ve have both hips replaced and ankle surgery, I am aware how much these cost

Cycling on the roads is actually very safe, the stats show it is about as risky as walking. If you are cycling in London, you can greatly reduce your risk of death/serious injury by not going up the inside of large vehicles at junctions, since that is how the majority of cyclists are killed in the capital. To put things into perspective, around 100 cyclists are killed every year but around 75,000 people die from coronary heart disease, and physical activity such as cycling helps to lower that risk.

Do you feel the same about horse riding, swimming, rugby?

Skiing is fun and statistically safer than many sports and certainly safer than taking your children in a car to cost grandparents

You can't live a life in fear what a dreary life that would be

it’s incredibly sad for the parents - no parent should lose a child through accident or illness, so I feel for them desperately.

But, skiing is a sport where you should be in control. You shouldn’t go so fast that you can’t stop when needed, you should read the terrain (ie trees, steepness, weather conditions) and you should abide by the rules of the mountain, including being aware of what in going on in front of you. Most accidents on the mountains these days are because someone is out of control - I have been hit by both skiers and boarders who were out of control. I’m lucky and have never had a serious accident, nor have any other members of my family which includes parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles and now nephews and my son.

Yes it carries a risk, but as a PP said, so does swimming in open water, rugby, horse riding, cycling (off road and on road) and any motor sport. How many youngsters are devastatingly killed in car crashes each year not long after they’ve passed their test? I’m far more worried about my son driving/ being a passenger when he turns 17 than I am about him skiing safely and in control with the family.

IMHO, letting your kid sit about all day watching videos on TikTok, gaming, eating ultra processed muck and vaping is far more dangerous.

School ski trip 70 kids, half never seen a ski slope- amazing experience, fresh air and exercise for a week, bonding, fun, no injuries… no deaths… everyone fine.

Should we also stop sea swimming, off-road biking,
rugby… what about football? I know a fit health guy who dropped dead in the middle of playing…

What about people who smoke? Or drink more than their 15 units a week? Or don’t do the recommended amount of exercise? Of don’t eat enough vegetables? Or are overweight?

I've ski'd for decades. Never had an accident. Nobody I ski with has ever had an accident. Nobody I know who skis has ever had an accident.

It is fun, good exercise and I'd rather ski than run.

A "middle class badge of honour"?!

Isn't it allowed to just be something people do for fun? Like all the other sports and hobbies that people do (that also carry risk) Do you just have a problem with it because it's an expensive sport?

I learnt on a crappy little dry ski slope in Scotland and had a few days to the Lecht with second hand ski suits on the rare occasion there was actual snow in Scotland. I didnt go abroad until my mid 20s. There was definitely nothing middle class about it. But despite the sleet, mud, ice and rain that is skiing in Scotland I absolutely loved it.

Now we ski every year (thankfully not in Scotland) it's our favourite holiday, my kids have zero concept of "middle class badges of honour" and they absolutely love it. Because it's fun. If you don't fancy it, that's fine but don't claim others are doing for some sort of random kudos.

I'm Scottish. I live an hours drive from a ski resort. I've been skiing since I was a child.

Same.

Of course some people just love it for the purity of the sport but lots more go because it’s a lifestyle choice. Skiing holidays are not usually for the ordinary person on a council estate. Get real. I’m ‘middle class’ and have been on a few skiing holidays when younger. I see what I see. It’s just the truth sorry!

You don't need to do any of those sports to be fit and healthy. I don't do any sports (single mum) but I walk everywhere, have to pick up and carry my hefty baby around, and do workouts in my living room.

Same can be said for horse riding?…….
or many other sports that are dangerous

It’s definitely something some people like to show off about.

Do you have the statistics on the ‘high chance of getting hurt’?

Skier and horse rider here. Horse riding definitely more dangerous due to the 4 hoofed animal with a mind of its own. Yes there accidents and catastrophic ones but few and far between. Get a grip you are bashing skiing because you think it’s a middle class sport - it’s not. You can ski cheaply or expensively. Would never ski without insurance though. Kids go on school trips, buses crash lots of deaths injuries- where does it stop?

I read about a woman who had two hands bitten off by a shark recently. And there are ‘loads’ of people killed every year by sharks ( using OP terminology). Let’s ban people from beaches NOW!

OP you can make the choice to deprive your DC to learn to ski but they won’t thank you for it and you can’t stop them later. Your choice but don’t come on MN with your exaggerated claims bashing skiing as a high risk sport.

Absolutely ridiculous post !! So many dangers in life , many of them unpredictable.
We ski every year - best week of the year !!

Not race horses but my kids have been breaking and bringing on young horses/ponies since they were pretty small so not too different. People do what they love and often there is a risk.