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Helmeting Up in the Backcountry

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Jason Albert

Helmets... when, where, and how?

Helmets… when, where, and how?

  It’s that time again, the “take questions from a reader time.” The rules of engagement, although they are stated in the FAQs regarding comments: please be kind and don’t put others down. Pretty simple. And we bring that up since the Q&As from new backcountry tourists seem to generate comments.  That’s out of the…

Responses

  1. Slim

    I figure if I can bike uphill with a helmet in summer, I can ski uphill with one in winter without dying from heatstroke. For me the biggest benefit of not wearing one, especially on the climb, is ease of temperature adjustment.
    So I often leave it off when ascending.
    I wear it on the uphill if:
    -here’s overhead hazard
    -It’s short laps (saves time transitioning)
    -there’s a risk of a long slide (spring) if I slip and fall while skinning

    Interestingly my ski touring book from the German Alpine Club claims head injuries are a quite small % of total ski touring book injuries. However, source is cited for this, and one can argue that head injuries are more serious than many other injuries. Also, this is likely for the Alps, where above treeline skiing is much more common than here in North America.

  2. Scotsman

    “it’s hard to imagine that someone doesn’t make a backcountry-specific helmet—light, well-vented, meant to be used but replaced in the event of an impact. ”
    Wick says he might be getting trolled over this phrase in the reader’s question. Hopefully he is as, AGAIN !!!!!, a simple google search will show that the options available for backcountry specific helmets is very large and there are some very excellent options that are light, and well vented.

    If there was no trolling intended , I virtually shake my head in disbelief at the question…but nicely in a kind hearted grandfatherly way.

    For the last 25 years I never wore a helmet for either resort or BC skiing but with an increasing interest in ski mountaineering objectives, I decided to get with the program.
    Being a gear whore I now have two. The Petzl Sirocco that I wear on long BC tours and when I want to channel my man crush Vivian Bruchez and a fancy skimo style Atomic MIPS one I wear in the resort and for side country that always invokes comment ( Is that a bike helmet? to which I reply ..no its a Skimo helmet ! and that usually results in a bewildered look and then they bugger off and leave me alone)

    I put them on at the car and wear them uphill all the time and never feel overheated. I even wear them upfilling in the resort when its closed, wink, wink!

  3. Alex Hatcher

    An important-and often overlooked- part of helmets in general is fit and coverage. Many climbing helmets have limited adjustability and even actual shell protection. I don’t doubt their quality. However, I recently had a near miss in technical terrain wherein I ducked to avoid a large falling block of ice, my helmet (a beloved Petzl Sirocco) shifted, and the ice hit me directly in the base of the skull. Some helmets fail to cinch to an appropriate level-especially UL climbing helmets-and we all are hesitant to constrict our craniums! I turned around and purchased a helmet with better coverage, but also a better adjustment suite inside the helmet. Further, I often see people touring with hats under their helmets. The helmets are usually flopping from side to side. Long story short, a helmet is marginally effective if it’s not fitting properly on a given day!

  4. Scotsman

    Nearly every person I know and myself included always wears a baseball cap under their skimo helmet. Not only does it keep the snow of my sunglasses /goggles but it is fact the height of fashion and looking “fly” is job one in the BC.
    I wear a lightweight running cap and find it indispensable. In fact and it direct opposition to Mr Hatchers’ hypothesis on floppiness, I find I get a better fit with my cap beneath my helmet .
    I have seen the same floppiness that Mr Hatcher has seen and its horrific.
    Its not due to the hat underneath but user error( ill fitting helmet, straps not adjusted properly) akin to the people that allow the dreaded goggle gap to exist.

    The Petzl Sirocco does have coverage limitations and it requires careful adjustment of the straps ( especially the horizontal section that goes behind the base of your skull ) but I’ve never had it shift. Thank God they updated the design. I still have friends that insist upon wearing the first generation orange Siroccos that made you look like Dan Aykroyd in the ” We come from France” SNL sketch. I pretend I don’t know them and make sarcastic remarks about ” mass consumption”.

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