Well, the headline isn’t exactly true. After the article yesterday, I was curious exactly how dangerous backcountry skiing actually is. So, I went google-ing around for what I could find in regards to reliable statistics.
As it turns out, no one can really come up with a reliable number of the number of backcountry skiers/splitboarders in the country. So, my next step was skiing/snowboarding in general. The most reliable numbers I could find were from the National Ski Area Association.
So, here are the fatalities compared to a few other things:
Skiing/Snowboarding: .38/100,000 participants
Climbing/Mountaineering: 1.4/100,000 participants
Driving: 16.13/100,000 licensed drivers
Obesity*: 283/100,000 obese in the US
So what’s the end result? Even if you count the fact that people aren’t skiing, snowboarding, or mountaineering on a daily basis, it’s far more risky to be obese than to get some exercise outside in what’s traditionally considered a dangerous activity.
If you you don’t take stupid risks outside, chances are you’ll walk away injury free. You’ll even be in better shape than when you started. In the long run, that’s a lot better for you than watching the Ice Road Truckers marathon.
*Note: obesity counted assuming 300,000 deaths per year, 34% of the US counted as obese, and Google’s US population number.
It’s so true. People think skiing or snowboarding is dangerous. But if you think about it, MOST people on the hill are safe and responsible… though there are a good handful who don’t think about safety til the patrol is carrying them or someone they made crash down the hill in a toboggan. Either way, I’d rather die from a snowboarding accident than from sitting on my ass my whole life developing butt sores that get infected and kill me. F**K SNUGGIES!!!