On Piste Fatalities in Recreational Snow Sports in the U.S.

Abstract

This study documents fatalities and risk factors in alpine winter sports. The authors have tracked all known fatalities (n=854) occurring to recreational skiers and snowboarders within the boundaries of ski resorts in the United States since January 1978 through the winter of 2004/05. Data are limited to trauma deaths. Medical emergency deaths, deaths to employees, and deaths involving uphill lift facilities were excluded. Fatality data came from three sources: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), and public news sources. Information concerning the accident, the injury, and the equipment used, were recorded. Data on skier and snowboarder resort utilization and demographic variables were obtained from NSAA annual reports. This particular analysis covers the 14 seasons 1991/92 through 2004/05. Five hundred sixty-two deaths were recorded; 97 to snowboarders and 465 to skiers during 761 million resort visits. During that time, helmet utilization went from essentially zero to 33.2 % for the general at-risk population. The fatality rate for skiers was 0.75 deaths per million visits (D/MV), and the snowboarder rate was 0.53 D/MV. These rates have not changed significantly over time. Most fatalities occurred to experienced males between the ages of 18 to 43. The most common scenario is a severe head injury resulting from high speed impact with a tree on or beside an intermediate trail. During the three most recent seasons, the known average prevalence of helmet utilization was 38.7 % among the fatally injured. Helmet utilization does not appear to affect fatality incidence, but it does shift primary cause of death patterns, from mostly head injuries for those not using a helmet to mostly chest and torso for those wearing a helmet. The fatality rate for alpine skiers remained significantly higher than for snowboarders. The demographic profile of the fatally injured remained unchanged from previous research.

Incidences of Fatalities on Austrian Ski Slopes: A 10-Year Analysis

“…The mean incidence of fatalities between 2008/09 and 2017/18 was 36.9 ± 7.9 deaths per year. In comparison, studies by Shealy et al [9] and Ruedl et al [6] reported 38.5 ± 6.0 and 41.1 ± 6.4 deaths on average per winter season. The overall incidence rate of 0.70 deaths per million skier days is lower than shown in studies by Ruedl et al [6], Shealy et al [9] and Bianchi et al [8], reporting 0.79, 0.75 and 0.70 deaths per million skier days.…”

“…Regarding traumatic and nontraumatic fatal injuries on ski slopes, a rising trend of deaths rates could be shown between the period 1980 and 2001 by Xiang and Stallones [7] and death rates ranged from 0.53 to 1.88 deaths per million skier days. Later, after the turn of the millennium, the number of traumatic deaths among skiers has remained relatively stable, with incidences ranging from 0.37 [6] to 0.70 [8] and 0.75 deaths per million skier days [9]. Due to the lack of published literature/studies, the development of nontraumatic death incidences in the last two decades cannot be described properly.…”

“…Nowadays, the present evaluated injury rate in recreational alpine skiing in Austria is 0.6 injuries per 1000 skier days [5]. Therefore, ski fatalities on ski slopes are generally rare events compared to non-fatal skiing-related injuries [9]. When comparing fatal events on ski slopes with other mountain sport activities, the death risk during mountain hiking in the Alps is about five times, and during ice and rock climbing in the Alps or trekking in Nepal, about 10 times, higher than during alpine skiing [10].…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, no study investigated the potential risk factors regarding both traumatic and nontraumatic deaths on ski slopes. Furthermore, the majority of the available literature does not include data on nontraumatic deaths on ski slopes [8,9,14].…”

Fatalities on Austrian Ski Slopes During a 5-year period

“…We found that mainly male skiers older than 50, at an average altitude of 1700 m, were involved in most deaths, suggesting that gender, age, and altitude may be important risk factors for death on the ski slope. Other 2,5,6 have also shown that primarily males are involved in fatalities on ski slopes. A potential reason for the higher death rate in male skiers might be that males show, in general, higher risk-taking behavior on ski slopes, and they ski faster compared to females.…”