Category: Tips

Cross-country ski clothing essentials

I am freshly back from my first ever cross-country ski experience, three days on the tracks in Kvitfjell, Norway, brilliantly organised by SkiSafari.com.

It was a short, try-out visit, but required an almost complete overhaul of my piste wardrobe. Ski clothing rental is becoming increasingly popular, thanks to our friends at ecoski.co.uk. However, cross-country, aka Nordic skiing, is still a minority interest for UK skiers. That meant no chance of hiring clothing for this ski mini-break.

Luckily, my husband and I both absolutely loved the sport and can’t wait to return, so our kit will be going back in the cupboard until we can get back to the trails.

Buy pre-loved if you can

I am certain that in future it will be possible to buy pre-loved cross-country ski clothes here at WhoSki.com, but these are early days for our peer-to-peer marketplace, so on this occasion, off to the (online) shops we went.

For downhill skiing, clothing needs to both breathe and keep you warm on ski lifts. The way most of us ski makes for short periods of extreme exertion followed by longer stretches of trying to avoid getting cold hands, feet etc.

In contrast, cross-country skiing is physically much tougher, especially for a beginner with poor technique. Bear in mind that you are likely to work up a sweat pretty quickly, so you would roast in your downhill ski jacket and pants. You do, however, need to stay warm while stopped or in bad weather. Yup: we are talking layers.

Lower body

Go for two layers on your legs: a pair of thermals with over-trousers on top. The thickness of your thermal base layer will depend on the outside temperature: thick for colder winter weather, thinner for spring-like temperatures. In late spring you might even drop the thermal layer, or choose a shorter three-quarter-length / Capri style pair of tights or thermals. These will allow more air to circulate and help prevent you from over-heating.

I wore the same thin base layer leggings which I also wear under my usual downhill ski pants, and they were just fine.

If you’re looking for a higher-intensity cross-country ski workout, ski tights alone – similar to running leggings – will suit. Those aiming for gentler touring on skis will also need a pair of shell-type Nordic ski pants to wear over your base layer.

I bought mine from Daehlie, a well-known Norwegian brand, and was very pleased with their performance; wind-resistant micro-fibre material at the front and stretch material at back with tailored legs, elasticated ankles and a small zip pocket. Warm and cool and comfortable.

Upper body

Think three layers, with a thin base layer next to your skin that will wick away sweat, a fleece on top of that and a lightweight over-jacket designed specifically for cross-country skiing. Odds are the fleece will come off as soon as you start working harder on an uphill stretch, so it’s as well to wear a small backpack for your trip out on the trails.

Your over-jacket needs to be windproof, and you might appreciate having a micro-down jacket that weighs light and packs small in your backpack too. You can slip this on for extra warmth on a cold day if you find yourself taking a chairlift or stopping for a prolonged rest.

I found a half-zipped base layer was perfect under my jacket: the zip allowed for extra air circulation when working hard on climbs. It’s the same top I use when downhill skiing, so that was one less item to buy.

Day one began with me wearing a mid-layer fleece – which came off very quickly – and I only wore it again to keep the wind off when we took a chair-lift to the start of a more distant trail. My Halti soft shell jacket also performed beautifully and looked good.

Accessories

Many cross-country skiers wear a headband/ buff to keep their ears warm yet allow heat to escape – a thick hat will be too hot for most of us. However, a thin beanie or cap with ear-flaps that fold up will also suffice.

Your downhill ski gloves are likely to be far too thick / insulated for cross-country skiing, so you might want to invest in specific cross-country touring gloves. Thicker running gloves would also do the job on warmer days. Mittens are recommended for those who suffer from cold hands. I do, but suffered no chills in my new cross-country gloves on this trip (bright spring sunshine, temperatures hovering around zero).

Regarding socks, alpine ski socks are fine although of course you don’t really need the padding or length. My husband was happy in good quality woollen socks. Cross-country ski boots are light yet warm and windproof – and so easy to walk in compared with their alpine equivalents. Heavenly.

As for all skiing, good quality sunglasses are essential (not goggles – too hot for cross-country) as snow glare can cause optical damage.

Make sure you carry a water bottle – cross-country skiing is energetic work. And the little Nordic ski straps provided by our hire shop were genius for holding together the skis when carrying them (which is a joy – they are so light).

A very useful online resource for information about cross country skiing is the website goXski.com which offers regularly updated reports on Nordic ski equipment, resorts and trips. Thoroughly recommended.

Get in Touch

If you’re thinking about trying out cross-country skiing, do drop us a message on social media : @WeWhoSki on Twitter and Instagram. I’d be happy to share tips from our experience.
Nicola

What to pack for your family ski holidays

Most of us heading for the slopes this winter / spring will be seasoned skiers / snowboarders, but if you’re a ski holidays first timer, what ski wear essentials should be in your suitcase?

No one wants to (a) over-pack OR (b) be under-prepared. If you’re not a ski parent, however, it can be hard to know what’s a must-have, and what you can cross off the shopping list. Here’s the children’s ski wear I recommend, after two decades of skiing with children (from age 0 upwards):

SKI WEAR MUST-HAVES:

  • warm, waterproof ski jackets and trousers or ski suit. You cannot ‘make do’ with non-specialist equipment here: waterproofing, flexible movement, pockets and padding will make for an all-round better ski experience.
  • mid-layer. This can be a simple fleece, but make sure it has a zip so the wearer can open and close according to weather and exertion.
  • ski goggles. More protective than sunglasses, less easy to lose, warmer for the face on a cold day or when it is snowing.
  • ski gloves. Absolutely essential as it’s miserable to have cold hands, oft expressed by highly vocal wailing. You might also want to throw in a pair of thin glove liners. Mittens are warmer and perfect for little ones. Kids’ gloves tend to get drenched on a daily basis and they are slow to dry, so taking a spare pair is recommended.
  • ski socks. Longer than normal socks with heat-retaining qualities and the right padding in the right places, two pairs of ski socks for a week’s trip will be enough, provided they go on the radiator to dry between wears.
  • snowboots. No child or adult should ever go to the mountains without a chunky pair of cosy, waterproof snowboots. They mean kids can play in the snow without getting frostbite of the toes, and adults can walk to the bar/supermarket/ski school pick-up point without slipping over. Wear them on the journey to cut down on luggage weight
  • slippers/Crocs. Aka footwear you can wear between bootroom and chalet/hotel room. The first sign you will see at the entrance to your accommodation will be: no outdoor footwear. Without slippers (ideally, something robust with a sturdy sole) your socks will quickly be soggy. Yuck.
  • Lip balm and high SPF sunscreen. Take a few small tubes of suncream with you and slip into pockets so you can top up throughout the day. Ditto for lip balms, which are easily lost.

SKI WEAR NICE-TO-HAVES:

  • handwarmers. Keeping one of these in your pocket for those super-cold ski days can make a big difference, although there will be years when you don’t need them at all. Good news though: they don’t go off, so save them for next season if unused.
  • sunglasses. I would never go skiing without a pair in my pocket, but my kids have been known to stick with goggles whatever the weather. One less thing to lose, too.
  • thermal underwear. I always made sure my young kids wore thermals – and sometimes that was all they needed under their ski suits – but for teens, not essential.
  • helmet. Essential to wear, but easy to rent. You only really need to own one if you’re a habitual skier. For children, make sure there’s a clip at the back to prevent goggles from pinging off. As with cycling and motorcycling, never buy a secondhand helmet: you don’t know what it’s been through, plus build technology has improved year on year so modern styles are safer than ever.
  • ski boots. As above: wait to buy them until your child’s feet have stopped growing/you move to the Alps/you’ve got the ski bug.
  • multi-packs of a favourite sweet snack. Slipping a packet of Haribos or a chocolate bar into a child’s ski jacket pocket provides a welcome energy boost for little ones between runs.

Got children’s ski wear that no longer fits? Pass it on via our preloved ski clothing marketplace. Looking for ski clothes for your family? Browse our peer-to-peer marketplace for high quality secondhand ski gear.

Boom time for UK’s indoor snow centres?

Anyone else resigned to another DNS ski season? Like us, you probably have wintersports pals who have abandoned trying to pre-plan a ski trip. Maybe you’ve held back from the Eurotunnel crossing in favour of the increasingly common ‘wait and see’ approach – particularly if you’ve got school-age kids.

The complications of daily testing in resort, the risks of possibly racking up a Covid19 positive before starting the journey home and the dread of forcing children to miss yet more schooling through self-isolation on their return, make a pre-booked ski trip simply not feasible for many families.

Disappointing for us – but good news for the UK’s indoor real snow slopes that look set to mop up the thousands who are not going to make it to the mountains this winter.

The fact is that not being able to get to the Alps or Dolomites doesn’t mean you and the kids have to miss out on your piste time. This could be a bumper season for indoor snow centres as, to be frank, there really isn’t much in the way of outdoor skiing infra unless you’ve got Glencoe on your doorstep.

If you want your fix of the white stuff, you’re probably going to have to ski and snowboard indoors this winter.

Snow centres have come a long way since the Tamworth Snowdome opened back in 1994. Now there’s a growing network of indoor ski and snowboard centres across the UK. Check out the Ski Club of Great Britain info page here for the full range of real snow and dry ski slopes across GB.  

A word of advice: get your sessions booked NOW – we predict high demand this winter, with so many families disappointed by not being able to get their mountain fix. Why not take the opportunity to learn the basics on a snowboard, grab a few lessons to spruce up your technique or even take your Level 1 instructor exams (could be the perfect Christmas present for an older teen…)?

And fingers’ crossed that the health climate improves enough between now and Easter to allow that long-awaited trip to our favourite pistes before the season is through.

WhoSki.com join SATI (Sustainable Alpine Tourism Initiative): how to green up your wintersports habit

WhoSki.com was delighted to join a panel of major players in the snowsports field for last month’s virtual SATI conference.

SATI is the Sustainable Alpine Tourism Initiative which promotes knowledge sharing and collaboration on sustainability in alpine tourism. The circular economy was a focus for this conference. It’s exactly what we are trying to promote in the wintersports clothing sector by enabling you to buy and sell preloved items from your ski and snowboard wardrobe, extend their lifecycle and keep them out of landfill. Find out more about our eco-motivations.

Our SATI webinar back in December discussed the impact of mountain tourism and how to make the right choice for the environment when enjoying snowsports. Here are some of the tips we picked up from the event:

1 Booking your ski holiday

Look for a smaller, specialist company which works with specific resorts and can book you into accommodation providers with established sustainability plans to reduce their carbon impact. For example, bookdifferent.com will give you a “staygreencheck” rate, public reviews and carbon footprints as well as clear top tips for responsible holidays. The platform is simple and easy to use.
If you book though a major ski company, ask what they are doing to reduce environmental impact, how they are working with resorts and why they don’t do more to help consumers understand how to #SkiGreen.

2 Travel to your ski resort

Flight costs look likely to rise in the wake of last year’s enforced shutdown, plus we all know the environmental damage air travel causes. Driving might be tempting from a Covid-secure point of view, but the train is your most eco-friendly alternative.
Visit snowcarbon.co.uk for timetable information and travel options to your chosen resort. They’ve done the hard work to make booking easier for you. Or follow theskipodcast.com where host and creator Ian Martin touches on many snowsports-related topics, including vehicle-free resorts.

3 Do your research

Attend the www.NationalSnowShow.com this autumn. The #SkiGreen agenda will be a big part of their offering at the show at the NEC in October 2021 with input from a number of emerging green companies across the whole snowsports sector. Come along and find out more.
PS: bring your preloved ski clothing – WhoSki.com will be present to help keep your ski jackets and pants out of landfill and in circulation. We’ll be providing more info closer to the date.

4 Dress green

No longer wanted wintersports clothing is notoriously difficult to recycle with its mixed fabrics, coatings, zips and fastenings. That’s why so many brands are now using sustainable materials in their collections. But however eco your clothing’s credentials, re-use always beats recycle. Ensuring every item of clothing gets the maximum number of wears should be your goal.
That’s why we created WhoSki.com as the online marketplace where you can buy and sell good quality secondhand ski and snowboard clothing. Perfect for families and students on a budget. It’s also the ideal solution for Instagrammers wanting to snap a different look every day for their channel.

Look out too for brands like Planks, Picture, Surfdome and EcoSki which offer transparency in manufacturing and sustainability credentials. Some brands will repair damaged clothing including Patagonia and Norrøna. In Scotland, try Scottish Mountain Gear.
Even skis are going green, with some marques using wood and other natural materials to make them increasingly recyclable.

5 Get your voice heard!

Finally, we recommend you sign up to protectourwinters.uk which is lobbying government and business to act on the environmental impacts of wintersports. Follow us on twitter @wewhoski for more eco-ski inspo, and spread the word: it might just be the best thing you do this winter while ski and snowboarding is off limits.

Dress like a Norwegian to survive Covid-19 winter

It’s the new hygge: ‘friluftsliv’, literally free-air-life, or the art of living an outdoor lifestyle.

Apparently, it’s what has seen Norwegians through lockdown. More than one in three citizens have spent even more time than usual outdoors this summer.

Typical friluftsliv activities include relaxing, fishing, hiking and sleeping in “camping hammocks”, the Guardian reports. If you too have enjoyed getting out and about or simply hiking in local countryside Norwegian-style over recent months, you may be wanting to continue through autumn and winter.

Great idea! Just make sure you are properly equipped to enjoy rather than endure our colder, damper, darker months.

Wintersports clothing is perfect UK winter wear as it’s breathable and waterproof. Importantly, it also has plenty of pockets to store face mask and hand sanitizer too. A pre-loved ski jacket is just the thing: low cost and high value. Check our listings for everything from socks (perfect to keep your feet warm and dry in walking boots) to thermal underwear and wind resistant overwear for the whole family.

You’ll stay warm and dry, look stylish, do your physical and mental health a favour, and give good-as-new textiles an extended life. #PassItOn

Expert #SkiGreen tips from our webinar

We were delighted to assemble a super-knowledgeable panel of experts for our #SkiGreen webinar today, so we couldn’t let them get away without sharing their quick tips for improving your eco profile on the piste. Perfect timing for #WorldEnvironmentDay, and with one proviso: no one was allowed to promote their own business.

Our experts’ #SkiGreen tips:

1 Keep harmful microfibres out of the waste stream: use a Guppy bag when you wash your clothing.
– Rachael Westbrook, Founder of EcoSki clothing

2 Choose veggie or vegan food when you can, even while out on the mountain, to help make best use of the world’s resources.
– Iain Martin, Founder of Ski Flight Free and presenter of The Ski Podcast

3 Take the train to the slopes – it’s more fun, less hassle and massively reduces your carbon footprint.
– Jim Stewart, Founder and MD, BUTTA eco ski/board wax

4 Favour resorts that use renewable energy (there are plenty of them)
– Peter Speight, Team GB Olympic freestyle skier and account executive Futerra

5 Don’t wash ski clothes more than you have to – spot clean hot chocolate or vin chaud stains rather than putting the whole thing through the machine.
– Nicola Davenport, Co-founder, WhoSki.com

6 Provide environmental feedback to your ski resort, operator, supplier as it will encourage them to do the right things and address the things they are getting wrong.
– Daniel Elkan, Founder of Snowcarbon and sustainable travel journalist

Circular Economy Week, London 2020

The WhoSki.com #SkiGreen webinar, chaired by WhoSki.com Co-founder Sally Warren, formed part of this year’s ‘virtual’ CE Week London, with a a series of snappy presentations from our expert panellists followed by a Q&A session.

Topics covered included:

  • how to spot a ‘green’ ski resort
  • why we should all choose environmentally conscious wintersports clothing
  • how to organise your ski train trip to the mountains
  • why secondhand is no longer second rate when it comes to pre-loved
  • why PFCs are ‘the forever chemical’
  • how we can protect our mountains for the next generation

Many thanks to all who took part, Circular London for proving us with a slot at this prestigious event, and Sustainable Merton for supporting us with the advice and tech expertise that powered the #SkiGreen webinar.

Watch the video of our #SkiGreen webinar: 

https://youtu.be/ZfiL6yiNme4

Read the presentations:

See also: 3 ways to #SkiGreen this and every season

Join our #SkiGreen webinar to mark Circular Economy Week

We’ve gathered some of the leading voices in the UK’s eco ski movement to discuss in a free-access online seminar how we can ALL take actions to ski a bit greener once the slopes re-open for season 2020/21.

From the clothes we wear, the way we travel and how we maintain our kit, to the changes being made by resorts – our expert panel of ski businesses and lobbyists will be highlighting the ways we as consumers can take positive action to reduce our impact and help protect the mountains we love to visit.

Our webinar (11am-12 noon on Friday June 5, 2020) will help you understand more about where the issues lie and how small things can make a big difference. Plus you’ll take away some easy-to-implement top tips on how to ski greener next season.

CE Week London 2020

The event is part of a programme of seminars organised to mark this year’s ‘virtual’ CE Week London, with subjects ranging from fashion to building, finance to babies. The WhoSki.com panel will be promoting the broad #SkiGreen agenda.

Our webinar brings you a series of snappy, enlightening presentations from our expert panellists, followed by a Q&A session. Please feel free to submit questions in advance to info@whoski.com or ask questions during the #CEWeekLDN event (register for FREE to watch/listen and take part).

We’ll be outlining the ways in which skiers and snowboarders can reduce their impact on the environment before, during and after a trip to the slopes, including their wardrobe, travel options, destinations and actions while on the piste. The circular economy, recycling and sustainability are all key.

Our panellists:

Sally Warren and Nicola Davenport : Co-founders, WhoSki.com
Textiles, the circular economy and the impact of wintersports wear on the environment.

Jim Stewart: Founder and MD, BUTTA eco ski/board wax
Keeping fluorocarbons off the piste: how one small thing can have a big impact.

Daniel Elkan: Founder of SnowCarbon, and sustainable travel journalist
How easy it is to get the train to the slopes, and overcoming travel obstacles.

Iain Martin: Founder of Ski Flight Free and presenter of the Ski Podcast
How attitudes and behaviours towards the environment from a younger generation have started to influence consumers and the ski industry.

Rachel Westbrook: Founder of EcoSki clothing brand
How buying new wintersports wear from the right sources is a crucial cog in the circular economy.

JOIN US: 11am on Friday June 5, 2020. FREE registration via Eventbrite
SPREAD THE WORD: #WhoSki #SkiGreen #CEWeekLDN

Our thanks to Sustainable Merton for supporting this webinar event.

What clothing is essential for a school ski trip?

For many people, the first time they even think about buying ski clothing is when their child is signed up for a school ski trip. You’ve paid for travel, tuition and accommodation, but how many of those items on the kit list do you really need to buy?

See above a genuine plea for help from a mum-friend just this week. The message thread continued…

ski trip message continued...

Hmm, yes: having the wrong kit could well be a factor!

No parent wants their child to be uncomfortable on the mountain, especially if you’re skiing with them (every ski parent will do everything they can to minimise small skier whingeing, right?), so making sure they’ve got the right clothing is essential.

If you’re not a ski parent, however, it can be hard to know what on that lengthy list of recommended school ski kit clothing is a must-have, and what you can skip buying or borrowing.

Here’s what I recommend, after almost two decades of skiing with children (from age 0 upwards):
MUST-HAVES:

  • warm, waterproof ski jacket and trousers or ski suit. You cannot ‘make do’ with non-specialist equipment here: waterproofing, flexible movement, pockets and padding will make for an all-round better ski experience.
  • mid-layer. This can be a simple fleece, but make sure it has a zip so the wearer can open and close according to weather and exertion
  • ski goggles. More protective than sunglasses, less easy to lose, warmer for the face on a cold day or when it is snowing.
  • ski gloves. Absolutely essential as cold hands are a source of misery for many. You might also want to throw in a pair of thin glove liners
  • ski socks. Longer than normal socks with heat-retaining qualities and the right padding in the right places, two pairs of ski socks for a week’s trip will be enough, provided your child puts them on the radiator to dry between wears.
  • snowboots. No child or adult should ever go skiing without a chunky pair of cosy, waterproof snowboots. They mean kids can play in the snow without getting frostbite of the toes, and adults can walk to the bar/supermarket/ski school pick-up point without slipping over. Wear them on the journey to cut down on luggage weight
  • slippers/Crocs. Aka footwear you can wear between bootroom and chalet/hotel room. The first sign you will see at the entrance to your accommodation will be: no outdoor footwear. Without slippers (ideally, something robust with a sturdy sole) your socks will quickly be soggy. Yuck.

NICE-TO-HAVES:

  • handwarmers. Keeping one of these in your pocket for those super-cold days can make a big difference, although there will be years when you don’t need them at all. Good news though: they don’t go off, so save them for next season if unused.
  • sunglasses. I would never go skiing without a pair in my pocket, but my kids have been known to stick with goggles whatever the weather. One less thing to lose, too!
  • thermal underwear. I always made sure my young kids wore thermals – and sometimes that was all they needed under their ski suits – but for teens, not essential.
  • helmet. Essential to wear, but easy to rent. You only really need to own one if you’re a habitual skier.
  • ski boots. As above: wait to buy them until you’ve got the ski bug.

Looking for ski clothes for your child’s next ski trip or school ski trip? Visit the WhoSki.com shop for pre-loved, good-as-new ski clothing at a fraction of the RRP.

Got children’s ski clothing that no longer fits? Pass it on via our preloved ski clothing marketplace.

We donate to charity on every sale.

Stars and public pledge support for WhoSki.com

What a stimulating, long weekend we have just enjoyed at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Festival in London’s Battersea Park.

Hundreds of visitors to the show stopped off at our chalet to find out more about how we plan to keep ski clothing out of landfill and in circulation. Our goal? To make it easier to sell on your pre-loved gear, and keep down the costs of looking good and staying warm and dry on the slopes. Remember: re-use beats recycle as the sustainable thing to do with no longer wanted clothes.

We very much enjoyed hearing your enthusiasm for giving your ski and snowboard habits an eco-boost, so we look forward to welcoming you to onto our peer-to-peer marketplace when we launch transactions in the coming weeks.

It was also inspiring to win support for our secondhand ski clothing resale concept from high-profile wintersports enthusiasts.

They included the legendary Graham Bell (Olympics, Ski Sunday), Woodsy (Olympic freestyle skier James Woods), Peter Speight (freestyle skier, two-time British champ, competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics), Jim Adlington (founder Planks Clothing, professional freestyle skier) and Neil McNair (professional snowboard coach).

Stars Peter Speight, Graham Bell, Woodsy, Jim Adlington, Sir Ranuloh Fiennes
Clockwise, from top left: Peter Speight, Graham Bell, Woodsy and Jim Adlington. Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes also gave us his seal of approval, signing our ‘I want to make skiing greener’ pledge, along with many, many more at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Festival.

Thanks to everyone who took time to visit our chalet, listen to our message and offer to use our soon-to-launch service. Watch this space! Sign up for our newsletter (below) to be kept informed.

Join WhoSki.com at the Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival

The circular economy goes skiing, as WhoSki.com brings sustainability to the winter sports industry at the UK’s biggest annual ski and snowboard fest during the October half-term holidays.

You’ll find our ‘start-up chalet’ (stand no OC23) in the Mountain Village, next to the fabulous Big Wheel, (and near the food) throughout this year’s Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival, which runs from Thursday October 24 to Sunday October 27, 2019.

Three reasons to visit the WhoSki.com Chalet:

1 BRING US YOUR PRE-LOVED SKI CLOTHING
Our NEW peer-to-peer online marketplace only sells winter sportswear, which is notoriously difficult to recycle because of its mixed materials and specialist coatings. That’s why most discarded ski clothing ends up either incinerated or in landfill: an environmental no-no.

We are making it easy to do the right thing with your pre-loved ski kit this Festival, with our on-site drop-off spot. Think green, declutter your wardrobe, bring your no-longer-wanted clothing and leave it with us.

2 WIN A WEEKEND BREAK
Visit our stand (no OC23) for the chance to WIN a winter weekend stay for up to four people in Shaftesbury, Dorset, at the stylish Barbers Cottage (barberscottage.co.uk): simply give us your name and email, or bring some pre-loved ski-wear.

3. SUPPORT TEENAGE MENTAL HEALTH
Don’t forget: 10% of our commission on everything sold via WhoSki.com goes straight to the teenage mental health charity stem4.

We believe that winter sports are a brilliant way to reduce stress, connect with nature and get a healthy workout. Partnering with stem4 is our way of sharing that feelgood factor and ensuring your pre-loved ski clothing provides benefits for those who can’t make it to the slopes.

Fun for all
The Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Festival is bursting with things to do this half-term for the whole family as well as DJ sessions in the evening for Gen Z. It’s an all-day and evening must-visit. Come along and say hello: we’d love to meet you!

Should we all be wearing a ski helmet?

I swapped my cosy ski cap (with fold down earflaps) for a ski helmet about four years ago for fear of being hit by another skier or boarder on the piste. These days, it’s unusual to see skiers or boarders not wearing a helmet.

That’s a huge change in slope safety mindset from just a few years ago: studies show that in some US and European resorts, 70% of us now habitually wear a ski helmet. They are not compulsory, although some resorts and ski schools do insist that infants and children wear a helmet on the piste.

In Canada, helmets are mandatory for those learning to snowboard, as well as for those teaching boarders and skiers.

Head injuries

Few parents would disagree that helmets for child skiers are essential, but should you wear one yourself?

Accidents involving high-profile skiers like Michael Schumacher and Natasha Richardson have helped convince many to swap beanies for helmets, although Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he sustained his injuries. Actress Natasha Richardson died from bleeding on the brain after she fell and hit her head while skiing (no helmet).

Benefits of wearing a helmet

As a chilly skier, I was pleased to find that a helmet is much cosier than a hat, it’s less likely to fall off (obviously), doesn’t itch and means you can keep your goggles on your helmet rather than have them taking up valuable pocket space. And as for those helmets that incorporate visors? Swoon!

Vents mean your head doesn’t overheat when you’re tackling a gnarly slope or the sun comes out, so for me my helmet is definitely a keeper.

The only question is how long can I go before buying a new one? There are some seriously desirable styles out there.

Ski helmets and injury

From the point of view of protection from injury, does wearing a helmet make a difference?

The NHS advises that the chances of sustaining serious injury when skiing are low. But if you are unlucky enough to have an accident, research published in June 2018 concludes (unsurprisingly) that wearing a helmet does help protect from head injuries. (btw, the publication Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal, where this research is published, has a fascinating contents page namechecking everything from wild boar to venomous snake bites via fire ants and ultraendurance nutrition.)

Scientists who have studied the effects of helmet use by skiers and snowboarders advise wearing a helmet in order to reduce the risk of a potentially serious head injury.

However, many ski helmets are not made of materials that will prevent brain injury if a so-called rotational injury occurs whereby (as explained in a very informative article in the Telegraph here), the brain rotates inside the skull following a collision.

Keep a look out for changes in helmet design and technology that offer increased protection from this kind of injury. (Good excuse for a headwear refresh!)

Find out more:

Ski Club GB advice about wearing a helmet

A factsheet from the charity Headway lists the symptoms of concussion and what to do if you suffer a blow to the head

Could our kids be next gen ski champs?

Some 1.5 million Brits take a ski holiday every year and, if you’ve been to an Alpine resort in the school holidays, you will know that includes a helluva lot of children. So are we getting to the point where our ski kids will be good enough to compete with the snowy nations like Canada, France, Switzerland and Norway?

Recent generations have seen increasing numbers of British children learning to ski from an early age, and it is that early exposure to the enjoyment and challenge of winter sports, combined with Team GB backing,  that is starting to manifest itself in professional success on the piste.

Traditionally, we have done badly in the Winter Olympics: not surprising given our lack of infrastructure as well as a deficiency of accessible, reliably snowy mountains.

2014 Olympics: UK wins first medal on snow

Things started changing in the last couple of Winter Olympics, however, with the UK’s first medal on snow won by boarder Jenny Jones in 2014, followed by two more snowboarding medals at Sochi last year.

Meanwhile, alpine racer Dave Ryding finished second in the parallel slalom at the World Cup in Oslo on New Year’s Day,  fourth overall at the World Cup in Italy on 23 December, and came ninth at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Ryding is our most successful World Cup alpine skier EVER.

British Nordic skiers making tracks

We’ve also got a number of Nordic skiers who are making progress in World Cup events: Andrew Musgrave took a podium place in the 15km World Cup race at Toblach in December 2018 and finished 7th in the skiathlon at the 2018 Winter Olympics. He recently scored a top 10 place in the gruelling Tour de Ski 15km classic.

These successes are now the focus of a vision from Performance Director for GB Snowsport Dan Hunt – the Dave Brailsford of winter sports. He is ambitious, aiming for the UK to be a top-five nation in ski and snowboarding by 2030. He was quoted in an article in The Times this week. “It feels like British cycling in 2006,” Hunt explained. “We may not have mountains  but we have sporting intelligence.

“This is where I get excited. What we are really good at, better than anyone else in the world, is shutting a gap of about 0.3 seconds.”

British downhill No 1 Dave Ryding agrees, telling The Times: “To be a top-five nation you only need one person to do well in each discipline. I won’t be around in 2030… but the younger generation is stronger than I’ve ever seen it.”

Get your ski kids involved

So if your child wants to take their skiing that bit further, how to support them? These links should help:

British Nordic (cross country) skiing: https://www.britishnordic.org/

Snowsport England: https://snowsportengland.org.uk/get_competitive

GB Snowsport: https://www.gbsnowsport.com/

And if you need to kit them out, or pass on their no longer needed ski, remember that buying and selling via WhoSki.com is the eco way to keep down costs and keep ski clothing out of landfill.