Constant risk of accidents in snow sports
Skiing and snowboarding remain among the most popular sports in Switzerland. Contrary to assumptions to the contrary, these activities have not become more dangerous in recent years. This is the result of a new study by the bfu. However, an average of 87,000 snow sports enthusiasts are still injured on Swiss slopes every year.
About 2.5 million inhabitants of Switzerland ski, 0.4 million prefer snowboarding. A Study of the bfu for the first time comprehensively analyzed the occurrence of accidents in snow sports on Swiss slopes. It shows that the number of skiing and snowboarding accidents has remained relatively stable since the mid-1990s. On average, around 39,000 skiers and 13,000 snowboarders resident in Switzerland were injured on Swiss slopes so seriously that they required medical treatment. In addition, there are 30,000 injured skiers and 5,000 injured snowboarders residing abroad. The risk and severity of injuries have hardly changed in the last 10 years.
On average, 6 skiers or snowboarders die each year on Swiss slopes and 10 off-piste skiers or snowboarders die off-piste. The risk of a fatal accident is one fatality per 1.4 million snow sports days. The evaluations of the bfu thus show: Contrary to assumptions to the contrary, skiing or snowboarding has not become "more dangerous" in recent years.
For skiers, the proportion of accidents due to collisions is only 7.4 %, for snowboarders even only 3.8 %. Evaluations by the bfu also indicate that on weekend days, when more snow sports enthusiasts are on the slopes, the risk of collision is no higher than during the week.
