 Poster: A snowHead
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Bumper snowfall in Nov/Dec lead to more than the normal number of avalanche deaths at the very start of this season. However, despite perception remaining that accident rates are soaring this season, this turns out not to be the case. Seminal back-country site PisteHors.com has published a report, "Ski Accidentology"... which looks into the accident figures from a slightly more balanced perspective than some might tend to: http://pistehors.com/news/ski/comments/0809-ski-accidentology/?gid=809000
snowHeads discussion on it here.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Thanks for the link to my website and discussion. It is always tempting fate to publish such articles but at present it certainly looks like avalanche deaths and incident rates are going to be pretty low this year in France and Switzerland.
Although the conditions can still change we don't seem set for a major evolution before the 20th February by which time we will be nearly half the way through the school holiday period which accounts for quite a few incidents. March can still be a dangerous month with a return to winter conditions.
The corollary is that there do seem to be slightly more falls (hard, icy snow in the morning) but you need to view the figures as a whole.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| admin wrote: |
| despite perception remaining that accident rates are soaring this season |
Is that true? I certainly didn't have that impression.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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your problem though laundryman, is that you're just too well informed 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Tracing this back, I looked at the pistehors article. The article states at the end of para 1 and start of para 2:
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| The office phone was ringing hot last week as British journalists tried to find an interesting angle on the death of a 40 year old doctor in Val d’Isère. The Telegraph wondered about the “the rise of snowsports injuries” ... |
It's not quite clear if that phrase was used on the "ringing hot phone", perhaps by an inquisitive Telegraph reporter, or if the Telegraph actually reported/published a "rise of snowsports injuries".
Having dealt with a lot of this data in the past, it's imperative to relate the figures to the number of 'skier days' or 'skier visits', because rises in injuries can obviously occur when the market grows (perhaps because of a season with good snow, or good economic conditions). For example, one might state X head injuries per 1000 (or 10,000) skier visits in 2006, against a comparable figure in 2007.
But let's get to the facts: has the Telegraph reported a rise in snowsports injuries? If so, what was the data source?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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P.S. the only recent Telegraph article I can find on this subject area concerns alcohol and skiing:
Skiers must stay off the piste [1 Feb 2008, by Peter Pallot, who I know has written about ski-related health/insurance matters for about 20 years]
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David Goldsmith, ... I think you will find some of the references on Pistehors website by following admin, 's link above.
I have linked to just these two here due to time constraints.
The Telegraph
and the Guardian
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I see no reference to accident rates soaring, or perceived to be soaring. The Guardian piece seems quite sensibly researched. The Telegraph piece has some rather random data.
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FAQ
