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KATE'S HELMET STORY
Life's tough, get a helmet!
Would you ever ride a motorbike down the highway without a helmet? No? Well that's just what you are doing each time you step out onto the slopes without a helmet on! It doesn't matter how good a skier/snowboarder you think you are, they can be extremely dangerous sports if you don't take the proper safety precautions. Undoubtedly one of the easiest methods to do this is to invest in a helmet. Not only could one of these potentially save your life this season, but they are incredibly comfortable once fitted correctly, and exceptionally warm on those bitter cold, wintry days.
It may be interesting to note that despite public perception, well-groomed blue cruiser runs are the most common place where fatal accidents occur on the mountain, with only 5% of skiing/snowboarding fatalities being caused by people crashing into tree wells. So even if you stay away from the trees, you are by no means exempt from the risks.
I have been saved from injury numerous times by my helmet, in particular on a very recent trip to Wanaka, NZ. In the adventurous spirit of the trip, my friends and I decided to hit some rock drops (literally jumping off from big rocks on our skis). Towards the end of the day we decided to test one we'd had our eye on for a while. It looked achievable, a measly 2.5 meters with a seemingly smooth run-off. Caught up in the moment I decided to drop first without fully scoping the landing, my first mistake. My second was realising the landing was actually "flat as a pancake" a split second too late. As a result I bounced upon impact, tumbled a full rotation in the air and landed on my head. As you can imagine I didn't feel fantastic when I eventually came around, but the first thing that crossed my mind was "thank goodness I was wearing my helmet". After 7 hours strapped to a spinal board and neck brace, one very bumpy ambulance ride and a dozen X-rays later I thankfully was given the all clear from any serious damage. Even now, I am still doing 2hrs of physio almost every day. I can only imagine what would have happened had I not had my trusty helmet protecting me.
So have you got a helmet? If not, what's stopping you when there's a fantastic range of styles, colours and sizes at Snowcentral? Helmets are noly $25 to hire at Snowcentral as well. It doesn't matter if you're a skier or snowboarder, young or old, a total novice or rip down double black diamond moguls, everyone needs to GET A HELMET!!!!!
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