Skiers in Switzerland are travelling faster. A significant number are now clocking speeds in excess of 100 kilometres an hour, reported RTS.
Over a quarter of the Swiss population engages in winter sports annually. Unfortunately, around 33,000 employees are injured a year at a cost of CHF 307 million, according to accident insurer Suva. One risk factor is speed, something that has been increasing over the years.
This week, Suva published data from roughly 380,000 ski descents made between 2019 and 2023 by around 10,000 skiers using the company’s ski tracking application. The data sample is skewed however. A majority of participants in the study were men over 45 from German-speaking Switzerland who rate themselves as good to excellent skiers.
According to the data, 75% of skiers had a top speed in excess of 50km/h, close to a fifth exceeded 70 km/h and a significant number regularly exceeded 100km/h. The data also show that speeds are rising.
These days, crossing a busy piste can sometimes feel like dodging human bullets in a snowy shooting range.
Why are speeds increasing?
According to the experts, there are several reasons. Wider better prepared pistes, more hard (fast) artificial snow, and changing equipment are key ones. Carving skis make it easier for less experienced skiers to ski fast and helmets give some a sense of invincibility. The data shows the most reckless skiers are most likely to me young men.
Despite higher speeds, there has been no notable increase in the number of accidents. However, the severity of injuries is rising, occasionally resulting in death. In 2017, a six year old girl was killed by a reckless speeding skier in the resort of Les Mosses. In 2018, a four year old girl was killed at the resort of Lenk in a similar incident – see article.
Solving the problem of reckless speed on ski pistes is difficult. The culture of bravado and overconfidence – skiers like drivers consistently overestimate their ability – that goes with reckless speed is deeply ingrained. Some resorts in North America deploy ski patrollers to catch miscreants and relieve them of their passes. Some have suggested introducing stricter laws that criminalise dangerous skiing, opening the way to fines and compensation. In the meantime, the risks of avalanche notwithstanding, avoiding pistes is one way to avoid all those “excellent” speeding skiers.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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