Skiing is dangerous, why do we do it? – Cynthia MacDonald

Rating: ***

This article was ok, it wasn’t great but it wasn’t bad. Cynthia MacDonald uses many personal experiences throughout the article, because the article is the story of her friend’s death while skiing.

Cynthia MacDonald states that skiing would be ok if we stayed on the green trails, but humans tend to search for adventure. Our sense of adventure sends us from green trails to blue trail, then to black trails, then to double black diamonds, and then in to backcountry where ski patrols don’t go. Cynthia’s friend Adam died while skiing backcountry, so she asks continuously why we ski if everyone knows it is so dangerous? She also asks the question of has skiing gotten safer? Well, has it? You can still break bones and you can still die.

This article is trying to convince you not to ski because skiing is dangerous. I am still going to ski, because it is my favourite thing to do. Am I still going to ski backcountry? Sure, backcountry is fun, you can ski anywhere and it is almost always first tracks. I’m not going to go skiing by myself like Cynthia MacDonald’s friend Adam did because it is too dangerous, and skiing by yourself is lonely. I agree with Cynthia that ski hills have become more dangerous, because they are busier. That is why people ski backcountry, to get away from the crowded ski hills. People want to get to the beautiful, adventurous and quiet backcountry, where it is only you and your friends, and no groomed runs, only powder

I recommend this article to skiers. Skiers should know the dangers of skiing and that the buddy system is best, never ski alone! I would not recommend this article to non-skiers because if they read the article they would become too freighted to try skiing.

MacDonald, Cynthia. "Skiing is dangerous, why do we do it?" Explore (Canada's Outdoor Magazine), Winter 2006. Print