Downhill Slide-Rule Measures the Number of Injuries in Ski and Snowboard Enthusiasts

Researchers offer a new way to monitor the number of people who are injured while snowboarding, alpine skiing, or telemark skiing. Past analysis has involved counting the number of injuries that happen over a set period of time, usually 1000 days of skiing. But different people can ski or snowboard very different amounts in one day. In this study, the authors added another important measurement, the distance each skier or snowboarder traveled. By counting the number of passes used on an alpine ski hill, the authors could estimate the distance each person skied or snowboarded. The results were then compared to the number of people treated at a local hospital.

Researchers used this information to come up with a set measurement, or index, that could be used to check how often people are injured in each of the three snow sports. According to the authors, the percentages that were tallied in this study suggest "a three-to-four-times higher incidence of injuries requiring hospital treatment among snowboarders than among alpine and telemark skiers."