why EVERYONE who climbs should ALWAYS wear a helmet

alexdavis wrote:Moreover, I'm willing to bet it costs a hell of a lot more keeping someone on life support or even going through just a few surgeries after he helmet saved their life, than burying the person. Far more likely to be in the latter situation without a helmet.

I think that deserves a double quote.

I have a motorcycle and the insurance is really cheap. Why is that? Few motorcyclists call after an accident to collect the insurance money.

Statistically there are more TBIs that resulted after a drunken brawl with a blunt object assault to the head than as a result of a fall in a climbing accident....so if u wanna beat the odds then wear a helmet in the bars with the presumption of the above.

Elena Sera Jose wrote:Statistically there are more TBIs that resulted after a drunken brawl with a blunt object assault to the head than as a result of a fall in a climbing accident....so if u wanna beat the odds then wear a helmet in the bars with the presumption of the above.

? Don't all trad climbers wear their helmets in bars anyway? I thought that was common practice.

troll...if not, you sir are whats wrong with the world

I am all for wearing helmets. The one day this year I forgot mine I got beamed in the head with a pebble and it hurt.

However, to use health care costs as a justification is not sound. We are all going to get sick and then die. As a general population those last few years of life consume the bulk of health care costs.

Some studies claim that the healthy folks actually spend MORE than smokers and the obese. The logic is they live longer, and as a result cost more. Smokers and the obese die younger and cost less. By this logic, if minimizing health care costs was the true objective than wearing a helmet should be illegal.

forbes.com/sites/timworstal…

I drop cams all the time so I encourage wearing helmets

I personally wear one when I remember. I was in a skiing accident a couple of years ago - TBI, 5 days in the hospital, had a walker for a month and a half, learned to read, write and walk again... Definitely for them, but it is the choice of the individual if he or she wants to wear one or not.

me no likey ware em ----- i cant lik da windos

I agree that every climber should wear one but your neo-fascist view is absolutly rediculous!! Keep your laws off my head. YOU MAKE ME SICK!!

We don't even mandate patients with bone flap out wearing helmets. We encourage it strongly...but there is no 'law' that says : u must wear a helmet if u r missing a part of your skull bone. .....just saying...everybody has a right to refuse to wear things

If i didn't wear a helmet and i got a head injury i'd feel extremely dumb. rock breaks and people drop gear gotta wear a brain bucket!

Cor wrote:dr. thrill, will you be wearing a helmet next time i see you out climbing? ;)

Hardcor-

well that depends on where and when we climb together next. I did infact bring my helmet to Eldo tuesday with the intention of considering to wear it, but I didn't need to becasue I was scared so didn't lead the frightfest I'm wotking on.

I'm certainly going to wear my helmet saturday climbing with scary eric!

But, truth be told I'm not a big fan of wearing it, I already have a titanium skull!

The Dread Pirate Killis wrote:The Patriot Act was a premeditated murder of effective freedom in the middle part of this continent, the details I'm not losing sleep over. Any candidate runs on a platform of repealing the entire shebang first day in office, pass/fail, I'm registering to vote again.

Ron Paul.

He's still in it by the way. The media would like you to think otherwise though.

Wayne Crill wrote:An interesting study on motorcycle helmet use and the money saved in helath care costs by states which have mandatory helmet laws due to reduced hospitalization injury treatment here The obvious logical extension is that the government should enforce mandatory helmet laws for climbers as well since it will save them money. However, not included in the above analysis is the health care job creation involved in caring for all the traumatic brain injuries that result from motorcycle (climbing) accidents that occur without helmets.....

Troll

Jake Jones wrote: +1000. But, he won't get nominated.

Please don't believe this. The media creates this notion since they don't want him. If I had a dollar for everyone that believes this I would be very rich. And if all these people voted for Ron Paul instead of believing this, he would get elected.

Now that the topic's been hijacked. Seriously...wearing a helmet while climbing should be a personal choice IMO. It should not be mandated and in any case the law is un-enforceable without a ranger being paid to do a climber evaluation every time....imagine that.

Maybe your partner will weigh in and insist you wear or get one.

Accept the risk when you climb. Objective danger levels are different every-time. Hopefully you or someone in your party has the experience to evaluate them. Then you know unexpected "shit happens"; holds break, crystals snap. ice fractures. A tiny mouse scratches under a boulder, a plant grows under the influence of sunlight...causes a minute shift and suddenly you are hearing a large object plummeting towards you at terminal velocity.

Should you find yourself helmet-less and thinking about why you don't have one to wear, there are couple things you can do to ameliorate the situation.

Don't stand directly beneath the leader or the route.
Instead, on steep rock try to find an overhang or bulge to tuck under.
On slabs, any object coming down will be bouncing-maybe exploding... pay attention and quit staring at the horizon or talking to your newly met friend.

When leading or following; cinch up the waist belt of your harness at or above your belly button. This places your attachment point just above your center of mass in many cases. It will help keep you right side up when the rope snaps tight on a fall...all other conditions now-withstanding..like you didn't wrap the rope around your leg or arm. I see a lot of climbers emulating a "hip hugger" style when wearing a climbing harness; sure fire recipe for flipping upside down and smashing your skull.

Practice Falling!...very important. Do it in a safe controlled environment before taking your body out for some rough contact. Know when you are in a "no fall" zone and act appropriately.

Until by some miracle we get universal medical coverage like many civilized nations have, a little catastrophic medical insurance can be a good thing in the US where you don't get much descent treatment without it. That is just reality in our fucked up medical system.

Thomas Beck wrote: Until by some miracle we get universal medical coverage like many civilized nations have, a little catastrophic medical insurance can be a good thing in the US where you don't get much descent treatment without it. That is just reality in our fucked up medical system.

Or you could take a break from occupying Wall St, get a f*$%ken job, and pay taxes like the rest of us instead of waiting for the government to cater to your sense of entitlement.

If it's illegal to drive without a seat belt why is riding a motorcycle legal?

There's a picture of a democrat.

Sorry Thomas, I didn't mean to hit you with both barrels. But not everybody shares your view on socialized medicine.