Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson,Dies at 45

[JoeChalupa]

nope, and they probably never will

Why won't they? Or is it ski at your own risk?

tragic accidents should never happen on a green. If it can, then it shouldn't be a green.

But can't a tragic accident happen just by tripping over your own feet and bumping your head? I'm not trying to be stupid just saying it can happen even on a green trail.

[JudynTX]

Reports are that the first ambulance on the scene was turned away.

[Slomo]

I've been keeping up with this since all of the happened yesterday. It's sad, and kind of crazy to boot. From what I understand, she was skiing and basically just fell over on a beginner's slope. No crashing into trees, etc., and didn't start having headaches until like an hour later. Makes me feel kind of lucky for all the times I wiped out on black slopes without a helmet and came out with just a few bruises.

Sad indeed, I always thought she was very pretty and a good actress.

I hate helmets while skiing (I'm a really good, compe ion level, skier) but this year for christmas the whole family got a new helmet for skiing and we are all using them now.
There has been a big increase of serious to fatal brain injuries on European ski slopes and I guess it was time to get over my dislike of helmets.
Not sure if a helmet would have helped her - weird accident.

Are there any rules regarding wearing a helmet when skiing at these resorts? And I would think a tragic accident could happen on any level or color of course or trail.

I can tell you how it is over here. Helmets are mandatory for children 12 years old and younger, and "only" strongly recommended for everybody else. There's a view gaining in popularity that helmets should be obligatory for everybody on the slopes.
Most fatal and serious accident (serious as in causing permanent brain damage) occur as a result of collisions, mostly between two or more skier. Your level of experience and the sticking to the correct colored slope for your level don't reall protect you against those.

[JoeChalupa]

Thanks Slomo. I make my kids wear helmets when bike riding and I wear one too.

[Blake]

They are inconsistent because the snow is inconsistent. They generally base green/blue/black/double black on the percent of grade. Because even blacks have to be groomed when they get too icy/skiied off you can occasionally hit a black that doesn't have any moguls, while another blue might be slick and cut up bad with short choppy moguls because it didn't get groomed the night before. Double blacks never get groomed because they are too steep to safely put equipment on. I've skiied some double blacks that were so steep that once you started you had to finish (either on your skis or flipping/rolling) because if you tried to pull up and stop the snow would just fall out from under your skis.

They need a system like at the beach where they rank the danger/difficulty on a daily basis. I don't think it would be terribly hard.

Instead they give you the same trail map they use all year long (probably longer)

I remember that run you are talking about at Ruidoso. The one and only time I skiied there (it sucked) we would tuck coming off the lift and when we got to that area you were talking about would break hard left and blast off the lip and get 60-70' of air jumping in to the trail below it.

Ruidoso sucks ass. We only went because it's a 3 hour drive from Lubbock.

I like the Colorado slopes, but my favorite was skiing in Killington, VT.

[CosmicCowboy]

My favorite area is Crested Butte. The have some amazing expert stuff and some long screaming blues for high speed mogul cruising. I was skiing the double diamond stuff there (headwall, etc.) before they even put in a lift to service the very top of the mountain. We would take highline and hike from there.

[peewee's lovechild]

I feel bad for Liam Neeson.

[MrChug]

Well he just became newly single.....go for it dude!

No wonder you called this fake screenname face you in pussy...good job mouse. I hope your closest kin dies a horrible death. Seriously.

[Bean Dip]

No wonder you called this fake screenname face you in pussy...good job mouse. I hope your closest kin dies a horrible death. Seriously.

Are you midgetonadonkey?

[Xylus]

I was just watching some interviews of Natasha Richardson on PBS, and damn... she had one of the most beautiful and seductive smiles I've ever seen.