*title from: troxelhelmets.com
A bit of background first…..Skiing and snowboarding on the east coast of the United States is rarely a great ride. Our slopes are full of ice and slush because most of our snow is man-made. It also seems that a lot of the smaller ski companies don’t have the ability to make decently “sloped” slopes.
Near my home in the southern Catskills of New York are two ski areas. One is part of a resort, so I shouldn’t even count it since it is really tiny. My experience there included a mini beginner trail, a much steeper intermediate trail and a snowboard that had its boot rip out off the board halfway down the mountain (didn’t even get much of an apology from the resort for that!). The other mountain is a little bit better with a magic carpet training area, beginner, intermediate and advanced trails. The problem is that you go from baby practice trail to what I consider an intermediate run with lots of turns and steep inclines. This is where the drama begins.
Last Winter a few friends and I went skiing and slowly moved from the practice area to the beginner slope. I went down once and 
decided the slope was too fast and windy for my liking. My friend went down one more time and lost control on a turn. She flew off the trail into the trees, hit a couple of them along the way and ultimately hit her head on a rock.
I was sitting down at the lodge waiting for everyone to finish their run. I noticed it was taking a long time and then saw the medics go up the hill. I just knew it was her….and sure enough, it was. Off to the emergency room she went, in an ambulance, to get several staples put in the back of her skull.
Lesson of the day: Always wear a helmet. I don’t know why we didn’t that day – we didn’t even consider it. When skiing in Colorado we wore them – it wasn’t even a question on whether we would or wouldn’t.
You can easily lose your life by a freak accident. No matter how good you think you are, just put on the helmet….it will help keep your head warm anyway!
PS……….
Top 10 Funny Reasons to Wear a Helmet
- Hides unseemly bald spot
- Helmets are more effective at repelling angry swooping birds
- Just in case the jump that you jumped two days ago has suddenly grown horns and is going to attack your horse, you’re covered
- Helmets don’t make your butt look big! (it’s true!)
- Practicing ‘flying dismounts’ (unplanned) … have been known to cause headaches
- You did enough brain damage in your college days
- Safe is the new sexy
- It’s so much fun to try to scratch that horrible itch on your head!
- “Altered level of consciousness related to subarachnoid hemorrhage” is not a cool Facebook Status.
- Perfect solution for a bad hair day, just strap that bad boy on and ride!
Aimee Knows 