Helmet or No Helmet?

For most of my ski career, I have not worn a helmet. I was one of those skiers that was adamantly against having to wear a helmet to ski. Two years ago, when we were mandated in the ski patrol to wear helmets at work, was the first time I wore a helmet skiing. But even then, on my days off, I would still only wear a toque and goggles and leave the helmet at home. But this year that changed. First, I found a helmet that fit well and that I really liked and second, I realized that not wearing a brain bucket was just stupid. The helmet protects my head, plain and simple, so why would I not want that for myself?

In other sports like mountain biking or ice climbing, I have never even contemplated not wearing a helmet. When I’m riding downhill bikes, that turns into a full face helmet, neck brace, hip armour, knee and elbow pads.  On a motorcycle, I wouldn’t dream of not wearing a helmet. So why, with skiing, have I always been so skeptical? Is it because I don’t fall? Nope. I crash on occasion. Is it because the snow is softer than the ice or the dirt? Last time I checked, there were trees, rocks, ice and dirt when you’re skiing. So what gives? Why is it that so many of us are against wearing a helmet when we ski but don’t even hesitate to wear a helmet when we do other sports?

I have pondered this question for the last couple of years and the answer I have come up with is this: skiing started as something you just never wore a helmet for. Mountain biking, for instance, did not. The first mountain bikers always wore helmets and as such, it is part of the culture of the sport. This is also true in the realm of climbing and mountaineering, motor sports and many other endeavours. But with skiing, it’s not. That is changing, rapidly I might add, but I still see people reluctant, even aggressively against, wearing a helmet when they ski.

Helmets don’t prevent concussions. There is solid data and research to support that. Most of it lies in the realm of research into head impacts on motorcycles but it is applicable to virtually any sport that uses a helmet. Helmets could be made to protect against concussions, but they would be so large and cumbersome as to be useless to wear for any type of athletic activity. What a helmet does do, however, is prevent a penetrating skull injury and those are never good. It also protects your head from small nicks and very light impacts, making things a little safer all around. You may still get a concussion, but you’ll live. But even with that, people will point out that they would rather die than be a vegetable because with a large impact that is probably what a helmet will do to you. Further to that they will say that a helmet actually encourages folks to be reckless and so is more dangerous. I actually heard this brilliant argument the other day while waiting in line for Spanky’s Ladder on Blackcomb Mountain. Really? That’s your take on things, buddy? Are you an idiot? ‘Cause I was. I’ve seen hundreds of head injuries as a first responder but it’s taken me years to understand the simple fact that wearing a helmet is just a better choice than not wearing a helmet. Period.

What I find ridiculous is almost all of those people wear helmets in other sports. I know lots of anti ski helmet folk and they don’t even hesitate to wear a helmet when they ride their mountain bikes, or motorcycles, or go kayaking or climbing. So what gives? The culture thing in skiing doesn’t fly anymore. Look around you. 90% of folks on the hill have helmets on. So why is it you are willing to wear a helmet in one sport with comparable risks to your head, but not in another sport with those same risks? My immediate instinct is to ask you if you’re an idiot. So what gives? Why, even in the face of evidence to suggest that a helmet does, in fact, protect your skull, do you continue to not wear a helmet?

I don’t know the answer to that question. I think if I did, I would still be sporting a toque and goggles on my days off. Instead, I wear a helmet. Every time I ski. Every time I ride my bike. Every time I paddle, or climb or ride a motorcycle. I see now that for me, it’s the best way to go.

Be safe, ski hard.