Smashing Melons
By Catie Clune

Despite hikes in lift ticket prices the popularity of downhill snow sports has soared, and the number of people at any given resort has multiplied. Crowded resorts have been good for the economy of many small mountain towns, but safety decreases when riding a densely populated mountain. Should the Corporate resort be responsible for preventing injury or is snowboarding still an at-your-own-risk sport? Beyond who is to blame for an injury, a true dilemma is how to enforce a helmet law on a private mountain? Even looking beyond the newly proposed regulations by California law-makers, wearing a helmet is always the best decision when you are given the option.

The main run at any resort can be compared with a freeway because it is the access and outlet to many other runs and is much more populated than an obscure run on the backside. Unlike a freeway there are no speed limits or minimums, they have no lanes, no turn signals, and most of all no patrol. A person who has chosen a run that is way out of their league, who sits in an un-visible spot in the middle of a run is just as big of a problem as the person who is going too fast and uncontrolled, when it comes to avoiding accidents. Like a freeway many accidents that do occur affect multiple people, even if only one person is at fault. You will even feel those same frustrations you encounter while driving, when a person while riding down a slope cuts you off. Now due to these close comparisons and new research being proved in the NFL about head injuries, many assemblymen seek safety increases in the ski industry. New legislation is looking to be passed in California to required anyone under the age of 18 to wear a helmet while riding. Along with stricter helmet laws another law requiring ski injuries to be recorded and published by resorts is up for a vote. These laws are largely opposed by the ski industry but the real question is whether they benefit us, the consumer?

We already pay for the lift ticket, renting gear, the waterproof pants you can only wear a couple times a year, would the requirement of a helmet push it over the edge? It seems that most people who are pushing themselves past their own abilities in the park or trees already wear a helmet. A helmet is always the best idea when you have the option not only because it protects your melon, but on a cold day no hat will ever compare to the warmth of a helmet. A good way to look at it is the cost of a helmet is by realizing it is far lower than any trip to the emergency room. Different helmets have different style foam lining depending on the type of impact most likely for the individual. Many soft foam multiple impact helmets are known as “hard hats” work best to protect a rider from multiple small impacts. Harder foam in many ski certified helmets is designed to burst apart and protect against a much harder impact, but if the helmet breaks it will no longer protect your head from a concussion in the future. By researching a good helmet style for yourself you will most likely be saving money and time by skipping the end of the weekend trip to the ER.

These new laws are being proposed without any thought on how to follow up with action. We should have the right to decide whether to wear a helmet or not, but a mandatory law would most likely benefit the safety of all people on the mountain. Keeping statistics of injuries is a hard task to take on, and publishing that data would just be lying to the public. This law is unnecessary expenditure of resources without any benefit. Unlike the freeway, which is a public good for everyone to use, which is the government’s responsibility to ensure safety, by purchasing your lift ticket to a mountain you are assuming responsibility for your own safety. The idea is that we can’t expect there to be a police like figure on a mountain patrolling each person, therefore that makes it each individuals responsibility to ensure the safety of themselves and the people around them. Buy a helmet you don’t mind wearing and be smarter than allowing yourself to becoming another injured statistic.