Crashes worry older skiers
Severe injuries open debate about whether etiquette and safety have gone downhill
Peter Ladner wants to ski again, but it won’t be this season. Maybe not next season either.
Ladner, youthful and fit at 64, was struck by a young skier on Feb. 8 while skiing the Whistler Peak Chair, resulting in a fractured left kneecap and a compound fracture with protruding bone of the right tibia.
“People who are getting on in years, who are still vital to the health of the ski industry, are having second thoughts or final thoughts about going up the mountain” said the former Vancouver city councillor and mayoral candidate, who is confined to a wheelchair for several more weeks.
Ladner’s accident has ignited a public debate about the safety of older skiers and about the livingon- the- edge extreme sports ethos that is pervasive among skiers and snowboarders.
“People are talking among themselves at Whistler and people are saying they’ve stopped skiing because they don’t want to get hit,” said Ladner, who was also struck by a skier four years ago, suffering a broken rib.
Skiing and snowboarding injuries are more than twice as common as hockey- related injuries in Canada, with a Canadian Institute for Health Information report last year concluding that more than 2,300 hospital admissions resulted from slopes- related injuries in 2011, excluding deaths.
Of that total, 604 were in B. C., with injuries highest among males between the ages of 10 and 29.
There were 132 accidental skiing and snowboarding deaths in B. C. between 2000 and 2011, an average of 11 deaths a year, according to the latest available data from the B. C. Coroners Service.
Whistler Blackcomb’s safety manager Brian Leighton agreed that older skiers are increasingly concerned about being hit on the slopes by younger, more aggressive skiers.
Leighton also noted that the number of collisions dropped marginally this year compared to last year, although there were about 20 short- term suspensions this year for reckless skiing and “less than a dozen” lost their passes for the year for injuring someone in a collision.
“There’s not a great chance of you or I being involved in a collision,” added Leighton, who wouldn’t release specific numbers on overall collisions at Whistler Blackcomb. “But there’s no upward trend in collisions or injuries in general.
“If you run into someone and it’s obvious you’re responsible, you’ll lose your pass for a full year.”
However, Leighton said short- term suspensions are far more typical. Former Whistler councillor Garry Watson was struck from behind about two weeks ago by a young female snowboarder, whose response to the collision amounted to a stream of expletives directed at the flattened Watson, who is about to turn 80.
“It was disregard for the safety of others and the person showed no remorse at all,” he said. Watson was not injured in the incident and has no intention of giving up the sport he has pursued for 75 years.
“Inherently in a youth culture you have a lack of regard for safety and a lack of personal responsibility,” said Watson. “It’s endemic among young snowboarders in particular, but skiers as well.”
Skiers and snowboarders can face criminal sanctions if they persist in dangerous behaviour.
“We have had skiers prosecuted for criminal negligence, a reckless disregard for the safety of others,” said Watson, a former lawyer. “There are standards of care and they are not being observed.”
Christopher Wilcox was convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a collision with snowboard instructor Ingrid Wipkema on Whistler Mountain in 1985. Wipkema suffered a broken arm, a broken collarbone and a punctured lung. Wilcox was sentenced to three years in prison, Watson said.
Ladner worries that the extreme sports ethos promoted in television and film drives skiers and snowboarder to take risks that endanger others.
Last year Whistler Blackcomb launched a smartphone app that tracks how many times a skier uses each run, vertical descent and the skier’s maximum speed for the day.
“When I hear a snowboarder zooming past at a speed where you know he can’t turn and you know he can’t stop, he’s a missile and a danger to himself and others,” said Watson.
Ladner’s accident “definitely” has some older skiers questioning their personal safety, he said.
“When you get a serious accident ( such as Ladner’s) it gets people talking,” said Watson. “We all take knocks in this life but an injury like that is startling.”
A story about Ladner’s accident appeared in the Whistler Pique, written by Ladner’s brother- in- law Michel Beaudry, and Ladner’s Facebook page is also hosting a lively debate.
The skier who struck Ladner was banned from Whistler Blackcomb for one year, but in letters to the paper and Facebook comments people have questioned whether that was the appropriate response to an accident.
“There is a debate going on, it kind of bubbles below the surface, and there is an understanding that these are terrible accidents, but also that accidents do happen and it isn’t always someone’s fault,” said Pique editor Clare Ogilvie.
The skier who struck Ladner stopped, apologized and stayed with him until help arrived and provided his real name and phone number.
“He did the right thing and he was penalized for it,” said Ladner, who is facing 12 months of rehabilitation.
People are also wondering if the rising popularity of helmets might be contributing to more accidents, Ogilvie said.
“Helmets and goggles limit your peripheral vision and you have to make more of an effort to look up and down the mountain,” she said. “It’s like following the rules of the road; if you don’t follow the rules, you’re going to have an accident.”
Like Watson, Ladner is determined to ski again, despite the seriousness of his injuries.
“I’ve been skiing Whistler since 1966. I’ve got a season’s pass and a place up there,” he said.