How common are deaths from skiing accidents?

[MrPerson]

Does anyone know?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Worse than pit bull deaths, not as bad as shooting sprees.

[indepat]

2. The last I recall is the late U. S. Representative Sonny Bono

:cry:

[MrPerson]

3. I'm sure it happens to Joe Schmoe too.

[REP]

4. Last FAMOUS person, you probably meant

The hoi polloi die in sporting mishaps all the time.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. I remember. He was the author of the horrid copyright extension act.

And that's all I'm going to say about that individual. Only an indisputable, verifiable fact. And nothing else.

[NJCher]

15. did you ever hear about this?

Program synopsis from Coast to Coast:

Recap
The Assassination of Sonny Bono
Ian was joined by investigative researcher Bob Fletcher, who discussed the mysteries surrounding Sonny Bono's death and why he believes the former entertainer-turned-politician was assassinated.

Fletcher began by providing background on the toy manufacturing company he started in Marietta, GA in the early '80s. Fletcher said he merged his operations with a man he'd met at a marketing show in New York, and soon discovered that his new business partner was using the toy company as a front to supply armaments for covert NSA/CIA operations.

Fletcher left the partnership, tried to sue, and began an investigation into the activities of high ranking U.S. military and government officials, who he claims were involved not only in secret weapons dealings but in drug smuggling as well. Fletcher said he'd sent Bono his documentation and the congressman had looked it over and decided to go after the people mentioned in the report. A week and half later Bono was dead.

Fletcher went over the unusual circumstances of Bono's death, noting that the evidence surrounding the fatal ski accident does not make sense. Fletcher stated that Bono had "prominent blood stains" that had soaked through the back of his jacket and three layers of clothes, yet no wounds could be found on his back. He also pointed out that Bono had no neck trauma, no contrecoup brain injuries, nor any other sign that would have come from colliding with a tree at 30 mph.

Fletcher suggested instead that Bono was beaten in the head with a gun and placed by the tree to make it appear as though he'd been in a skiing accident. According to Bono's autopsy report, "some of the fractured bone pieces have a curved configuration" consistent with being struck by the barrel of a .45 or 9mm pistol, Fletcher explained.

[Historic NY]

27. Um, the barrels of a 45 or 9mm are not exposed....

they have a square type slide covering them so they would not be curved. Only a revolver has an exposed barrel.

[varkam]

28. IIRC, the top of the M92F 9mm barrel is exposed

But I would think that being pistol-whipped would cause contrecoup injuries, as well.

[indepat]

41. I certainly had not heard of any possible foul play

:shrug:

[librechik]

34. A Kennedy family member, too. n/t

[Freddie Stubbs]

37. Michael Kennedy in 1997:

http://www.cnn.com/US/9712/31/kennedy.update.2/

[amitten]

5. I don't know, but accidents are very common.

It's a high-speed sport with zero protection, so what can you expect? And a helmet won't stop you from breaking your back, or leg, or neck.

[MrPerson]

7. So I made the right move in sitting on my fat ass.

I'm so pleased.

[TTUBatfan2008]

11. You've got a better chance of dying in a car accident...

All it takes is a drunk driver or speeder to blind-side you. Skiing is fun but definitely dangerous. I've had one major accident where I broke my collar bone in my left shoulder. I was very fortunate because I could have landed on my neck or head.

[tonysam]

19. A Lot More People Drive Cars Than Ski, However.

The sport used to be a rich man's game until a couple of decades or so ago.

[TTUBatfan2008]

24. Well of course...

And people drive every day whereas skiing is usually a once per year vacation for most people, if that. My accident happened during Spring Break 2007 and I went skiing last year during Spring Break. I was actually pretty surprised at my confidence. I was expecting to be really timid and ultra cautious, but I was pretty confident especially after I made it through my first run.

[amitten]

12. Yeah. Or you could do something else for thrills that has

more protection and less risk.

I have a feeling your life would still be complete without flying downhill at high speeds on a pair of sticks.

[ColbertWatcher]

20. You will make a bundle if you can market ass-skiing correctly. n/t

[MrPerson]

26. Ass watching is more profitable.

[ColbertWatcher]

29. No reason people have to choose. n/t

[ContinentalOp]

25. Not necessarily a "high-speed sport"

I just enjoy leisurely making my way down the hill. Of course you have to look out for the assholes who think you're supposed to go down the slopes in a straight line. The whole thing is pretty much no fun anymore with all of the idiot snowboarders on the slopes though.

[DURHAM D]

6. One of Robert Kennedy's sons died in a skiing accident. n/t

[tonysam]

18. Yep. Michael Kennedy. n/t

[AlCzervik]

23. He was playing ski football and hit a tree, most of us ski sans the game of football.

I never realized just how unpopular skiing is here at du, well that's less people for me to contend with on the slopes.

[Lost in CT]

It tends to happen to the rich and famous so it is covered out of proportion.

Injuries on the other hand are surprisingly common though head injuries are relatively rare.

In addition avalanches kill about 50 a year and that is skiing related. (on edit: world wide)

[guyton]

13. head injuries

I thought are pretty common when you wrap yourself around a tree.

But she got nailed on a beginners course, ouch.

Having taught several of my friends to ski, I'm a big fan of ... "ground school" first. Similar to learning to fly. Learn the basics of edging before ever getting on the hill.

[tridim]

8. 38 per year

http://www.nsaa.org/nsaa/press/0506/facts-about-skiing-and-snowboarding.asp

[backscatter712]

9. In Colorado, there's a handful every year.

Usually people being dumbasses, losing control and skiing into a tree or similar.

There's plenty of injuries, though most of them are things like knee injuries, broken wrists, occasional broken legs (that happens when you tighten the bindings too much - don't do that - leave them where the ski shop set them - they set them so the ski lets go before your tibia does.)

It's your basic adrenalin junkie sport - you go in with your eyes open, try to mitigate the really stupid risks, but it's inherently a sport where people sometimes get hurt.

[maxsolomon]

14. incredibly common. 10 per weekend at all the hills around seattle.

you'd best stay home and leave all that fluffy new snow to me & mine.

[ColbertWatcher]

21. How magnanimous of you to warn everyone, while vowing to keep an eye out.

Someone should give you a medal.

[maxsolomon]

32. see? neither of us needed the

:sarcasm:

[leftchick]

16. not common at all, safer than rugby and football

I can not even wrap my head around a beginner being killed.. It is usually the asshole hotshots who risk life and limb

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/5005937/Natasha-Richardson-accident-10000-Britons-injured-while-skiing-every-year.html


Despite a series of high profile accidents, however, safety experts insist the sport should not be regarded as any more dangerous than a game of football.

Dr Mike Langran, a Scottish-based GP who has studied alpine injury rates for several years, said around three in every 1,000 enthusiasts require medical attention. The risk of death was less than one in a million, he added.


Dr Langran added: "I don't personally regard snow sports in general as dangerous sports at all.

"For a start, the overall injury risk combining all the snow sports is about 0.2% to 0.4%.

"This is really very low. Think of an average game of football. Usually two or three players end up with an injury at the end of the game."

[Incitatus]

17. I bet more people slip in the shower. We should mandate helmets while showering.

[ColbertWatcher]

22. Shower cams should be mandated as well. For enforecment purposes. n/t

[cali]

30. Between 1980 and 2001, in CO, 274

people died in skiing accidents (both downhill and cross-country).

http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S002013830300055X


Skiing deaths receive high profile attention. The fact is, however, that skiing is relatively safe, at least in comparison to some other activities. On average, 34 people die each year from skiing accidents (0.69 fatalities per million skiers/snowboarders), compared to 900 bicycle deaths (7.1 fatalities per million bicyclists).
http://www.saferesponder.dupont.com/Safety/Outdoor%20Safety/skiing_safety.htm\

[Fumesucker]

36. Most people don't ski in traffic..

I really have no idea but I wouldn't be surprised if a great many of the deadly bicycle accidents involved running into cars at very high speed. :eyes:

[cali]

38. so what?

it's still more dangerous to ride a bicycle than ski.

[Fumesucker]

42. So the act of riding a bicycle may not be more inherently dangerous than skiing..

I thought I made that fairly clear.

It's the cars and their idiot drivers that make bicycling more dangerous than skiing.

People in Europe, where bicycling is far more common, wear helmets at a far lower rate than in the US.

[excess_3]

31. celebrities should be banned from small aircraft

skiing
living in NYC / Las Vegas / other dangerous cities

[Hell Hath No Fury]

33. According to a surgeon on King last night -- 50 last year...

the majority due to brain injuries. :( From my experience with litgation lawyers for the ski resorts, the most common cause is a fall that causes the skier to plow head first into the trunk of a tree.

One of the most odd cases I saw was a very young boy who was killed while taking ski lessons. He was in a line of students and a skier came down off a hill out of control, went airborn and took the top of the kid's head off with his skies. :(

[alfredo]

35. Sonny Bono

[MiniMe]

39. One of the Kennedy's too, but I don't remember which one

I think that Kennedy and Sonny Bono were around the same time.

[AlCzervik]

40. Michael Kennedy and he was playing ski football which imo was stupid.

either ski or play football but not at the same time.