Avalanche beeper, shovel, probe and ...?
Encouraging education not legislation through certification.
Opinions really divide on this, many helmet wearers swear by them, non wearers frequently swear at them others gently poke fun. Where do you stand?
We received some great contributions in response to the announcement that the Pied mont region of Italy is making off piste safety equipment a legal requirement. You can see the debate here.
The free tickets for an avalanche talk go to Robert Eaton for a thoughtful discussion and for introducing the subject of certification. I will email the ticket details to Robert if you send me an email of where to send it.
Certainly a big step by the Italians. A few thoughts off the top of my head:
- Carrying a beacon, shovel and probe is clearly better than not when off piste, but without training on their use and general avalanche awareness does this law have the correct emphasis? Perhaps certification from a recognised avalanche course should be the requirement before going off piste (such people are likely to take the right equipment out of knowledge and not just legal requirement)
- Do we need to redefine 'off piste'? Playing around in the soft stuff a few yards to the side of the piste is, mostly, a very different affair to hiking away from the pistes for untracked couloirs etc. Perhaps their should be a 'recognised off piste' zone - maybe distinguished by a new set of piste markers - these zones don't have to be patrolled/maintained, and wouldn't even need to be covered by insurance, but would perhaps distinguish between the 'off piste' that most skiers/boarders make use of, and the terrain where training, awareness, equipment is necessary.
At HAT we promote the idea that it is education that matters rather than legislation. this is very similar to the stance taken by the RYA in regard to water sports.
We have introduced certification as part of the in resort programmes. Anyone who takes part in our programmes gets a certification of the training and if you do the whole programme, then we issue a certificate of competence. As this becomes established we will e seeking wider recognition for this qualification as adding great value to off piste safety.
If you want to learn more about getting certified and more education. You can book on our on snow programmes.
The photo of the week below and on the blog shows this week HAT awarded several Certificates of Off Piste Excellence (COPE) to participants of on-snow modules.
Here in the photo is Shelley Vernon and Ben Sawyer. Other 's awarded certificates this week were Matt Cheung, Charlotte Saint-Jean and Ginny Dawson (Voka the Spanial is eyeing a certificate here with envy, but it was decided that she needs to practice her spade work... she ended up with a certificate, 'high marks for effort and enthusiasm though. Somehow she knew that I'm a softy.
But, what about helmets for skiers on piste or off piste. You are more likely to get a head injury than to be caught in an avalanche, should this become a recommended piece of equipment for adults as well as children.Opinions really divide on this, many helmet wearers swear by them, non wearers frequently swear at them others gently poke fun.
Where do you stand?
I was persuaded of the case and started wearing one in February after more than 20 years of skiing without.
Comments? Please email in? A free ticket to the talks for the best one.
Enjoy the warm sunshine this week.
Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor
We wrote on this theme last week with regard to demands to legislate that people should always carry avalanche safety equipment when going off piste. We also asked for your views on whether skiers should be encouraged to wear helmets. Little did I realise that this would hit the news this week with the tragic accident of Natasha Richardson in Canada.
This has triggered calls in the national media for ski helmets to be made compulsory.
Take a look at what the HAT readers thought by looking at the comments in our blog post. Please contribute if you have an opinion.
My own view is probably best summed up by the commentary from Will Wightwick (who wins the Avalanche Talk Tickets this week).
There are few subjects on which I could be drawn to comment on the net, but this is certainly one of them, having just come back from a weekend where it was the source of (somewhat irritating) debate!
My experience both as a skier and as a lawyer leads me to believe that a helmet is essential on and off piste. They are becoming the norm rather than the exception as most people realise this. Those wearing helmets appear to be the better, safer skiers - but perhaps that is just my warped perspective on it.
There appear to me to be two types who will not wear them - those die-hard (and young)s who believe that it is cissy and those who simply cannot accept change.
Unfortunately, amongst the latter group is the most important - ski guides and instructors.
Until they are convinced to set an example, my hunch is that many people think that they will appear as 'cool' as them. Perhaps they don't not realise that it is the level of skiing ability which sets this group apart, not the lack of a helmet!
With time, I hope statistics and experience will cause them to change - I know of many incidents where a helmet would have saved a life. A parent at my children's' school was killed on piste, having fallen twice during the day and banged his head - hemorrhage. A friend stood unable to help as a young woman died in front of him, the back of her head split open by a careless boarder, etc.
My helmets have had some nasty dings in their time - I do not feel I am beyond falling. I am also aware when venturing onto the piste that other skiers can do for me what I have failed to do to myself all these years!
Great to hear that Henry is leading the way - innovative as usual! However we do not support calls for legislation on this, nor do we promote sanctimonious finger wagging at those who choose not to wear them. The decision is a personal one.
It is different from the decision about avalanche safety equipment. if you choose not to carry this you are endangering your friends and others as well as yourself. The risks around helmet wearing are almost entirely personal.
My son just returned from a trip to Austria where the instructors have started wearing helmets and they still looked cool (as Will commented it is the skiing ability rather than the choice of head gear that creates this impression. Instructors in France have yet to be persuaded, but we will see how this evolves over the next few years.
I was persuaded of the case and started wearing one in February after more than 20 years of skiing without.
Please do add your own comments on the blog to extend this debate. I feel the range of opinions we have so far is really helpful to think this through and more would be very welcome.
Comments? Email in please? A free ticket to the talks for the best one. Enjoy the warm sunshine this week.
Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor
I think we have captured the full range of opinion's. If you take a look at the posts then you will have all the arguments marshalled in one place and can make up your own mind. So please contribute if you have something extra to add.
My own agenda was to get Henry to think again and you can see from Henry's remarks that he has placed an order for a helmet.
A big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this debate and the other debates on this blog. I'm still enjoying the 'wind in my toupee' à la JYS (or generally bald head) for the moment; but will be taking that 'next step', as James put it, pretty soon as I have taken enough park and flies now to convince me that head-butting a rock is not something I fancy.
I do feel that many young to middle aged men in helmets (and often without) are a danger to everyone, but I still think that a strong message is better than the police state answer of the North American resorts! Well, maybe I should modify that to the 'education rather than legislation' mantra which I truly believe in, and which forms the core motivation for all of what we do at HAT.
Thanks again for your interest and participation.
But to balance the argument. This week the free tickets for the talks go to John Yates Smith of YSE who argues most articulately against helmet wearing for general piste skiing. John can use the tickets for himself and friends or as a gesture to one of his guests. Here is is commentary.
I wear my helmet for slalom, where I have a greater than usual chance of head-planting, but not for free skiing. I'm sure I should. I'd certainly be safer. I'd be even safer with full body armour, an orange mattress wrapped around me, and a small boy walking ahead of me with a red flag...
Doesn't there come a moment when the individual is allowed to decide for himself whether there is a risk, and whether he wants to take it or not? It doesn't affect anyone else. I wear a helmet when I cycle down off the Col de l'Iséran at 70kph, but not when cycling up it at 2kph.
I would certainly vote against helmets' being made compulsory, for skiing or cycling. Perhaps insurance companies should look at the statistics, and, if helmets are shown to cut accidents, give a reduced premium or excess to people who wear them. I'm surprised that nobody believes that helmets limit their hearing and peripheral vision. Mine certainly does.
With helmet and goggles I have the field of vision of a blinkered donkey. I have to keep turning my head to check that some snowplough bomber isn't about to take me out. Most of them seem to be wearing helmets and goggles too. Not only can they only see objects directly in their field of vision, which never seems to include me, but they feel as invulnerable as a Range Rover driver, have little sensation of speed, and don't seem to hear me shouting 'Watch out!' I never get flattened by someone in a bobble hat and Ray-Bans.
A friend of mine is convinced that a helmet interferes with one's balance. I pointed out that World Cup skiers don't seem to have this problem, but he replied that half of the contributors to this blog admit to having dented their helmets! Did they fall on their heads that often before buying them?
Personally, I would like to see speed limits on certain runs, enforced by police with speed cameras. I would like a Highway Code for the pistes, with fines for those who ignore it, and prison for people who cause serious accidents.
Just leave me to enjoy the wind in my toupee.
