How Many Deaths Are Caused by Snowboarding?

Snowboarding is an incredibly dangerous sport, but it doesn't necessarily cause as many deaths as you might think. The US National Snow Safety Board estimates that over 135,000 people are injured in snow sports each year. A small fraction of these injuries are potentially life-threatening, including head injuries. Fortunately, most concussions are mild and don't have long-term consequences.

Skiing

The fatality rate for skiers and snowboarders and chances of getting hurt is largely determined by gender. In the 2010-2011 ski season, there were 48 deaths, with eight deaths occurring among snowboarders. The fatality rate is around 0.81 per million skier and snowboarder visits. This figure is lower than the 10-year average, which was 0.79 per million visits. However, it does not take into account the deaths of employees, backcountry skiers, or those with pre-existing medical conditions.

From 2008-2017, 369 deaths were reported. Of these, 190 were traumatic, while 179 were non-traumatic. The most common causes of traumatic deaths were collisions with objects or other skiers. The average age of the victims was 51.0 years old. The average altitude at the time of death was 1552.0 meters above sea level. About 40 percent of the victims were German citizens, followed by Austrians, and other Europeans.

Tree Wells

A snowboarding accident can be life-threatening if you don't know what to do. Many snowboarding accidents occur in tree wells, where the snow does not fill in around the tree trunk. The resulting hole can trap a snowboarder or skier headfirst in the snow. The snow acts like quicksand, and the struggle to get out may further bury the victim. According to the Northwest Avalanche Institute, tree wells cause about five percent of all ski and snowboard resort fatalities.

In the United States, about thirteen-thousand snowboarding and skiers die each year. A large number of these deaths result from traumatic brain injuries. In fact, the rate of traumatic brain injury amongst children is higher than that for adults. In addition, most of these accidents result from collisions, with 76% of child deaths resulting in a collision with another person or tree.

Collisions

According to statistics, about three hundred and fifty deaths occurred in winter sports, and almost all of these occurred while snowboarding or skiing on moderate slopes. Of these, most of them were traumatic and happened as a result of collisions with another person or fixed object. However, some deaths were non-traumatic and did not involve an object or a person.

Head injuries are among the leading causes of death among snowboarders and skiers. Although the sport is relatively safe, accidents can still cause serious head and spinal injuries. More than half of those injured during snowboarding and skiing accidents were not wearing a helmet. Additionally, ski helmets only protect the wearer up to a certain point, and may be rendered ineffective during high-speed collisions.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Snowboarding is a dangerous sport and can cause serious head injuries. Pearce's accident occurred on New Year's Eve when he was trying to pull off a double cork snowboard trick. He hit his head hard on the edge of a half-pipe and was knocked unconscious. He was airlifted to a hospital in Utah, where he was receiving treatment. He remained in a coma for several weeks. The injury left him with a serious head injury, and he spent a month in the hospital. Today, Pearce lives in a full-time care facility, and has not fully recovered his ability to walk or speak. He also struggles with vision problems.

Although the majority of brain injuries are self-limiting and will heal within a week or two, traumatic brain injury may remain long-term. MRI and CAT scan images may not reveal the full extent of damage to the brain.

Backcountry Avalanches

The number of people who die in avalanches every year has risen. As the number of people using the backcountry grows, the number of people who die in an avalanche has increased as well. This has been a worrying trend over the past few years, and is the reason for the recent spike in avalanche fatalities. Although avalanches are not the only cause of snowboarding deaths, they are one of the most common causes of death.

Many of these accidents involved experienced snowboarders and skiers. In fact, the most avalanche fatalities in the history of the sport happened to those who had a history of backcountry travel. While cabin fever and the recent pandemic are thought to have contributed to this season's high fatalities, the snowpack was also weakened by high pressure over Utah, which made it difficult to get a safe base when the snowpack returned.