***Full disclosure, this wipeout happened years but the story recirculates leading to some helmet holdouts purchasing some buckets. If you don’t own a helmet please read about this crash that happened on pretty tame terrain that could have killed the best big mountain rider in the world.
One of the gnarliest guys to ever strap into a snowboard, Xavier De Le Rue, almost died this week, not shredding a severe exposure/no fall zone that he is known for, rather a mellow powder run with few submerged rocks. If this isn’t proof positive that we all need to be wearing helmets please tell me why not:
“Today I was lucky, riding really mellow powder I hit a rock and then hit more rocks really hard with my head and blacked out for a while.
Without a helmet the doctor thinks I could easily have died. In the photo you can see how much the interior absorbed the shock at the back.
Thankfully just a concussion with a massive headache and a reminder to always wear a helmet…even on mellow terrain.
Thank you Smith Optics saved my life today.”
We also want to thank Smith Optics for saving one our favorite snowboarders in the world. Please send this around if you have any friends that are holdouts on purchasing a helmet. This is the time of year were rocks hidden by thin layers of snow are abundant and potential situations like Xavier’s are all around us. Wear a helmet folks…easiest/best equipment decision any mountain enthusiast can make.
[images from xavier’s facebook]
