Reading this article in the Canadian "Globe & Mail" made me remember some of our snow practices from previous mountain moments:
1. 'ex-army-boot' skiing (stuffed with socks & tied on with laces!!!)
2. 'bikini' skiing (those were the days, my friend!)
3. 'baby-on-back' skiing (all grown up now - TG!!)
4. 'midnight poubelle-ing' (bin-liner riding in the dark!!)
...but there's one snow practice I plan to hang-on to...
5. helmet-free skiing (if I should so choose, which I do)
...oh dear, methinks, a battle looms on the horizon!!!! -
how long have I got before it all starts again?
Unbelievable!! Two people die "both deaths occurred in out-of-bounds areas at Mt Hutt, and involved falls of between 130m and 500m, with the skiers then hitting rocks." And the suggestion is that wear a helmet will prevent such deaths?? Total unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteWhy is the instant reaction to call for Mandatory helmet, it won't solve the problem. Even a neurosurgeon should realise that a fall of 130+ m on to rocks is going to be fatal. Helmets are not a solution, they are a fig leaf, for stupidity (the stupidity of those calling for them). Just look at the evidence one of those who died was wearing a helmet.
This is so sad. The helmet industry thrives on tragedy, jumping on the graves of the unfortunate to make a quick profit.
It is funny that there are no mandatory all age helmet laws for horse riders. Could it be that politicians are scared of losing their rural seats? Could it be that politicians care more about votes than lives? Shock horror!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ski-epic.com/rant_helmets.html
ReplyDeleteSpot on Kim, it is all so driven by helmet promoters terrorising all & sundry with an imagined fear factor
ReplyDelete...& Gary, there definitely could be something in your summation of the horse riding analogy!
kfg, thank you for the link - I emotionally hugged the article - but it's so sad to think that 'Brian & his wisdom' appeared some 12 years ago, that his predictions have almost come true, and that our communities continue to do nothing about the ridiculous 'witches of salem' mantra that helmet promoters so wickedly utilise - we seem to prefer to be parented - it's all so totally nuts!!!!
"we seem to prefer to be parented"
ReplyDeleteThere was an article in America, ooh, 'bout ten years ago, that gained some attention. It cast the difference between the "Liberal" and "Conservative" parties as being the difference between the mother who provides nurturing and the father who provides discipline; and thus their constituencies as those inclined to one or the other.
I noted at the time that while I thought the idea was pretty spot on, it left an entire constituency completely out of the picture:
Those of us who consider ourselves the grown ups.
kfg, you are clearly a 'grown-up' et moi aussi - and moreover you are completely right, we are totally unrepresented.
ReplyDeletePolitical parties & electorates are pathetic & infantile, respectively!