Because there are more skiers than snowboarders I imagine.

How does one protect against collarbone injuries anyway?

In never got this "one thing is better than the other" rivalry, it just seems silly to me. Just enjoy the slopes and be safe.

The stats on helmet usage make interesting reading. Despite >50% helmet usage now, the fatality rate remains almost exactly the same as when no one used them. Something to do with instilling overconfidence, or else the kind of accidents that created enough G force to kill people still exceed a fatal level even with a helmet (just not by as much)

They do prevent minor injuries though.

i absolutely agree with you, i'm just playing silly buggers.
i love em all equally :0)
just wish more locals here in europe felt the same way

I use knee pads, an arse protector and a helmet. Wouldn't be on the slopes without them.

i find the helmet debate very interesting. i'm convinced mine saved my life once. i hate wearing it, but i would rather not risk it.

Knee pads AND an arse protector....I'm biting my tongue as its not a "prison bitch" thread...

My arse protector was provided by a combination of the Sleaman Brewery and Tim Hortons, but it takes years to fit

Dont get me wrong, I'll be in a helmet. I just dont expect it to work miracles if I hit a tree at speed.

Mine definitely has once - I don't hate wearing it either. It makes me look hard-core

ive never worn my arse protector, but i'm sure i will.

i've seen skiers with those padded back and chest doobreys. call me stupid but how does that work?

I've been tempted by those. I've caught back edges and gone flying and landed on my back - not nice.

i see! i've done that on my front. bloody awful when the breath gets knocked out of you

I wish they'd been around 10 years or so ago (not that I'd have worn one, probably - but I'll certainly consider it today). I stuffed my back (compression fractures in T12 and L1) in a bad fall in the French alps and had to be carted off the mountain in the orange toboggan, then strapped up in a splendid Smurf-blue fibreglass cast, from my armpits to my hipbone, for a while. Thankfully I suffer no long-term effects but haven't ventured out onto the slopes since. This year I've promised to take my son up to the bunny slopes at Glen Eden - it's about time I got back on skis.

I impaled myself in the ribs with a ski pole last winter (snapped it in half). Some more padding in that area might have reduced the bruising somewhat.

There are an amazing amount of gadgets out there that can help you fall better.

I now have two of these knee braces for my knees, not 100% effective but definitely help you fall better. They actually provide some resistance from the force of a fall so that your lower leg is prevented from twisting and damaging further knee ligaments.

In my opinion the biggest danger is from kids listening to music while riding or skiing.

Clearly crashing into a tree is more dangerous than a perforated ear drum?

good on you oakvillian!

Being crashed into by a blissfully unaware kid is probably somewhere in between