Your chances of dying while skiing or snowboarding is extremely low. Statistically speaking, you are 100 times more likely to die canoeing than you are skiing down the slopes. In fact, your chances of dying with your boots on at a ski resort is less than one in a million. That being said, tragedies occur. Here are some numbers and info to hopefully give you a better understanding of how the events happen.
7 Surprising Facts About Ski Deaths & Injuries
- The average skier death in CO is a thirty-seven years old experienced male skier wearing a helmet who loses control on an intermediate, groomed run and hits a tree.
- The majority of deaths — 54 percent — occurred on blue, groomed runs, while 31 percent were on expert trails.
- The increase in the number of people who wear helmets hasn’t resulted in fewer fatalities. Helmets are designed to protect riders at about 12 mph, while a skier or snowboarder who collides with a tree or another rider is typically going 25 to 40 mph.
- More than 80 percent of ski deaths in Colorado are men.
- 39 skiers and snowboarders perished at US ski areas during the 2015-16 season. That falls inline with the 10-year industry average of 38 fatalities per season.
- Researchers at Johns Hopkins recently estimated that about 600,000 people nationally are injured each year as a result of skiing and snowboarding.
- Estimates are that about two injuries occur per 1,000 skier visits — a decrease of 50 percent since the mid-1970s.
Related: How Many People Die Skiing or Snowboarding At Ski Resorts?