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Yesterday they passed a bill making it manditory to wear helmets in and outside of the park. Im not sure what hills they own but its a few of the big ones like whistler, breck, tremblant, mammoth i think ect.
"Beginning with this year's ski season, Vancouver-based Intrawest - which owns a string of resorts, including British Columbia's Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympics - will recommend that all skiers and snowboarders at its resorts wear helmets.
Protective headgear will be mandatory for children and teens in ski school programs, and for all students in freestyle terrain park programs, regardless of their age. The new guidelines also include requirements for employees that will be phased in over the ski seasons of this year and the next."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/intrawest-pushes-helmets-for-all-skiers/article1309321/
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/intrawest-pushes-helmets-for-all-skiers/article1309321/
When actress Natasha Richardson died in March after falling on an icy beginner slope at Quebec's Mont Tremblant Ski Resort, many wondered if she would have survived had she been wearing a helmet.
That question remains unanswered, but the company that owns the resort where Ms. Richardson's tragic accident turned a global spotlight on ski industry practices yesterday introduced new helmet guidelines that are expected to have a ripple effect at resorts in Canada and around the world.
Beginning with this year's ski season, Vancouver-based Intrawest - which owns a string of resorts, including British Columbia's Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympics - will recommend that all skiers and snowboarders at its resorts wear helmets.
Protective headgear will be mandatory for children and teens in ski school programs, and for all students in freestyle terrain park programs, regardless of their age. The new guidelines also include requirements for employees that will be phased in over the ski seasons of this year and the next.
For helmet advocates like Richard Kinar, the guidelines are welcome - and overdue.
"If they would have done this when we first started lobbying, we could have saved many, many lives and the health-care system an awful lot of money," Mr. Kinar, a director of the Brain Injury Association of Canada, said yesterday in an interview.
Mr. Kinar has lobbied for increased helmet use for more than a decade, and has been a key player in a push to develop a Canadian safety standard for ski and snowboard helmets similar to those in place for hockey equipment.
The Canadian Standards Association developed an alpine helmet standard in March. But the standard is not mandatory for manufacturers, and no CSA-certified helmets are currently on the market, although there are some are available that have been certified under different systems.
Intrawest's new guidelines are backed by the National Ski Areas Association, which represents U.S. resort operators, and Canada West Ski Areas Association, which represents resorts in Western Canada.
Potential lawsuits from injured skiers or their families, new equipment that allows skiers and boarders to go downhill faster, and increasing public acceptance of helmets make guidelines such as the ones that Intrawest announced yesterday inevitable, several long-time B.C. skiers said yesterday.
The Canada West association, following legal advice, will be asking its members in the next two months to approve a reworded helmet policy that "recommends" helmets for skiing and snowboarding.
Up to now, the group's policy has been that customers "consider" using a helmet, president Jimmie Spencer said yesterday.
For a crop of skiers that has grown up with helmets, the new guidelines will likely go unnoticed.
Eric Pehota has had a season's pass at Whistler for 26 years and has had both his sons, now in their teens, on the mountain since they could walk. They wore helmets, strapping them on as routinely as they do their boots and skis.
"It's just part of their checklist - I can't imagine them skiing without helmets," Mr. Pehota said yesterday.
Both boys race and have taken spectacular tumbles; one son took a fall that cracked his helmet and left him with a concussion, an accident that Mr. Pehota knows would have been more serious, or even fatal, without the head gear.
Mr. Pehota admits he doesn't always wear a helmet himself, saying the equipment makes it hard to hear and is sometimes uncomfortable. But he's going to try again this season, in part because his sons are giving him grief for skiing helmet-free.
If he does become a helmet head, he'll have lots of company. Helmets are common at Whistler Blackcomb, where they're worn by beginners, intermediate skiers and long-time powder hounds like Judy Bishop.
Ms. Bishop, a Vancouver-based consultant, started wearing a helmet 12 years ago, after a friend - an expert skier - died of a head injury resulting from a ski accident. She appreciates her helmet for its warmth, added protection and style. And she wouldn't dream of taking to the slopes without it.
"I just thought if a skier like him could die, based on a slip, then I am certainly not immune," Ms. Bishop said.
honestly it should be mandatory to wear one imo. i dont wear one but i've heard some stories of poeple who would have got really fucked up if they hadnt been wearing one so i plan to start this season. if everyone wore one nobody would care you know? i dont see how it could hurt.
