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.

I don’t understand off piste. People are killed in avalanches and accidents every year and most of them seem to be when they’ve gone off piste. Just why would you do it??

I said I barely see anyone without helmets - in agreement with you?
I've only skiied in Japan and Australia and pretty much everyone wears helmets. It's really only some holdouts in their 70s I see without them.

TBH I was more worried about my kids being mugged / stabbed than being injured skiing!
I know Jimmy Mizen's family. I'm sure they would rather Jimmy had been skiing than buying a cake when he was killed and 16.
And now his killer is out of prison and making songs about killing Jimmy.
I also know Rob Knox's family.
(Killed at 18 literally roads away from where I brought up my kids)
I wish Jimmy and Rob could go skiing.

50% of British kids are now overweight. Seems to me they could do with a little more sport (and a lot less stodge).

Exactly, yes there are dangers involved in skiing but so are there with driving, getting out of bed etc. If you are sensible the risk is low, it’s just people like to tell these stories so the risk is overinflated.

Why so vehemently joyless @ExcessiveNumberOfNinjas ? You don’t like skiing, fine don’t go, but I suspect you’re not this frothing about, for example, yoga, squash, parkrun, learning to drive, gardening etc, all of you can get seriously hurt doing. I love skiing, it makes me happy and gets me out in the fresh air in the worst park of the dank, dark, British winter. I have been doing it for over 30 years and never seriously hurt myself, the only time I have been hurst is when I’ve been dicking around or pushing my boundaries in a way I knew was stupid, so my own fault or when someone else was being a prat- if we all take care and are sensible it’s really not that dangerous.

I agree, OP! Saw a social media post the other week (think it was Zissman or Clancey?), who posted their young daughter(s) skiing down (supposedly one of the most difficult slopes) and THANKING the instructor for ‘getting them down safety’ whilst clearly beaming with pride. The pride to boast came before the safety aspect, clearly. It baffled me.

Likewise with diving/snorkelling or people entering the deep seas in general, then us having to endure horror stories about people being killed by sharks. This is risk you take when entering their territory!

I am not prepared to encourage my kids to take these big risks in hope that the fun side will outride the dangers.

i think your being sarcastic but It would certainly improve the health of the nation and would make people take personal responsibility for there lifestyle choices.

I don’t think this is a reasonable comparison. Obesity is a disease. Sports injuries are the result of accidents.

I’m not sure it really matters now experienced you are. When I was in secondary school, a boy two years older than me was on a skiing holiday with his family. He had a fairly minor fall but unfortunately landed on an area of quite thin snow with stone underneath. He died of his head injuries. He was 16. I can still remember his devastated parents and his sister, who was in my year. I agree with you, OP. It’s just not worth it.

Lots of fear mongering on this thread although I can understand it given the way the media sensationalises ski accident stories without putting the risks into any sort of context. But the flip side of that is some people are too blasé about skiing and don't put their children In ski schools or stick to the slopes appropriate for their level. Not saying that happened in this case but I've seen it plenty of times. Skiing is brilliant if done responsibly, like any activity that carries a level of risk.

I adore skiing amd it's the reason I exercise all year round - to be fit for my ski holidays. I've never been Injured but stick to intermediate slopes.

I have ski buddies from all walks of life - one is a carer, another is a retired teacher, another is a personal assistant. When I ski with them we go on the cheapest holidays we can find on Crystal Ski or else UCPA. They save for them all year and it doesn't have to be expensive compared to other types of holiday. And we always have a great time.

Skiing is the best sport ever!

Have you got a source for that? Because I had a quick search and it looks like that stat is indeed for downhill skiing. It’s even lower for snowboarding - less than 1 in 2 million snowboarding days.

Obesity is often caused by making daily risky decisions about health that has far more deadly outcomes.

Obesity is its own extreme sport in many cases.

I remember being very upset hearing about a boy who died on a school ski trip falling off a 500 foot precipice. I think this was in the 80s sometime. I mean what the fuck was he doing anywhere near it?

If you drive and drive your family are, they're at .ore risk of being injured than skiing.

Maybe everyone who's obese or has poor mental health due to lack of activity should also pay more for the NHS?
Or this who are too scared to walk cycle or use public transport and therefore drive everywhere should pay more to compensate for their damaging habit?

Life is not meant to be risk free.

I am British, live in the UK and there's ski resorts not far from where I live where I used to go skiing every year.

most people can get the bus or train though, which is statistically much safer.

Seriously?? I don't ski personally but know people who go every year without incident, and the accidents among my friend group have been inconvenient but not serious. Equally I know people who've suffered life changing injuries playing sports like football, hockey and netball. I know far more people whose kids spend every day playing video games who are obese at under 16 and are highly likely to suffer life long medical issues because of that. Live and let live - life can be dangerous but it would be a miserable life wrapped up in cotton wool!

I’m guessing you won’t allow your DC to learn to drive then? Far more dangerous.

I think this is exactly the problem. You’ve hit the nail on the head. It’s not part of our landscape so it’s not a necessity to learn properly - just enough for one week a year. Then they get cocky and don’t treat the skiing practice with the respect it needs. It’s seen as pure “fun” and competitive. I bet a lot of British kids race their parents or are encouraged to go fast.

But they can’t drive when they are 14 can they?

It is partially effect of severe skiing injuries being rare enough to be interesting for news. Do you think everyone who gets similarly hurt while cycling makes the headlines?

And vast majority of skiing injuries are knees and broken arms.

As a child I spent a week every year at large skiing camp, 100+ people 8-16yo. Nothing competitive; in my country (central Europe) it was just one of the ways to spend the holiday week. I don't remember any serious injury happening there, we rather behaved on the slopes and were silly in the evenings.

Skiing comes with a unique experience of nature - breathtaking views in the middle of snowy tops of mountains, discovering next valleys.
Physically, skiing is about very direct connection between the surface and your movement, you feel what is under your feet and react. The combination of speed and control can bring big emotions and be very enjoyable.

At the same time it is absolutely possible to pick a quite safe way - stop only at places with good visibility, don't go off the slope, adjust speed to conditions, don't get into too dense crowd.

You can actually ski v cheaply. You can get a cheap Ryanair flight to Oslo (one hour, starts at around £20). There is a lovely winter park a few minutes out the centre with slopes for beginners and intermediate where you can hire skis, take lessons. It is not the Val D’Isere but it is lovely and fun and a nice controlled environment if you are a typical UK skier who goes once every few years and has limited skill/experience. I would not recommend above paying thousands and then feeling you have to push yourself to get your money’s worth. Also Don’t agree that if you don’t start from birth every week you cant ski - what nonsense! Yes you can’t go off piste or do black runs but you can still have exercise and lots of fun!

Did the accident happen despite wearing a helmet? I know he could have hit the tree and still die but still why do so many people from the UK not wear a helmet when skiing, ice skating, roller skating? Its insane