Some interesting stuff, but some contradiction at the end.
https://coloradosun.com/2020/01/20/a...-victim-older/
Some interesting stuff, but some contradiction at the end.
https://coloradosun.com/2020/01/20/a...-victim-older/
The contradiction at the end I think might reveal another reason why the average age of victims is increasing. He notes that having a kid has changed his risk tolerance. The average age of having children is also rising...
The longer you live the more chances you have to die.
The population is aging.
Retirees have more time to ski.
You have to be older to afford more expensive stuff nowadays.
I can think of so many reason that have absolutely nothing to do with how older people ski or make decisions.
I know a bunch of folks in their 40's who are way more reckless than a good chunk of those in their 20's. I also know a bunch in their 40's and 50's who have mellowed out considerably, kids or not.
I don't think it's statistically significant. I will note that there are a ton more women (and people in general) in the back country then even 10 years ago which seems pretty obvious.
I wonder if the author would compare her conclusions to the drastic rise of STD infections amongst seniors. Seems like the same root theory.
Interesting data but spurious conclusions
I’d say it has more to do with fat skis, side country gates, and general increase in popularity of pow chasing.
The data is meaningless without knowing the denominator--how many total backcountry skiers and snowmobiliers of each age group are there over time. This data is not available in the study. The authors of the original study acknowledge this weakness in the discussion section. I would say it is a fatal weakness. Are more older people dying in avalanches because more older people are skiing backcountry? The break in the study at 1990 roughly corresponds to the availability of wider skis and light gear that make BC skiing more attractive to older people? I quit touring a long time ago but I would not be skiing resort if I had to do it with the gear I started with.
The original article brings up a pet peeve of mine that applies to studies in many disciplines--the authors use very sophisticated techniques to analyze the data obtained from a study that is deeply flawed in its design. The fancy statistics gives a false patina of reliability to a conclusion that is not supported by the data.
Looks like once you hit 70 you're golden
It seems like the number of skiers in the backcountry has dramatically increased over the last decade. As that bubble of users ages, the average age involved in accidents will also age.
And I can see additional risk taking in myself - when I was younger, for the most part I was aware that I didn't really know what I was doing. Sure, I had some avy education and I'd read some books, but I still tended to make extremely conservative decisions. Now that I'm older, I've spent far more time on snow and I feel like I have a better sense for things. Which is undoubtedly true, but it also means I venture into bigger, more consequential terrain more often. While I'm confident in my decision making, there's no denying that the consequences for mistakes have gotten more severe as I've become more comfortable traveling in the backcountry. I would imagine there are plenty of other middle aged people who are in the same boat.
33 is old.
LOL!!
As Goat says, denominator. Just a LOT more people doing it.
In my twenties most people that I told that I was BC skiing frequently were shocked, “wow is that dangerous?” But now with the Instagram effect along with BC promoters like all the guys with their guide books, many more have jumped on the bandwagon.
And with the numbers increase the age increases.
But 33 is still a child in average avalanche travel experience.
I hate the digging pits reference. If you need to dig pits to try to figure it out, you’re fucked
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more than 1/2 the fatalities in that study are bilers yet no mention of that stat
comparing cherry picking bc skiers to coconuts highmarking = bannnas
as is guessing bc days by using forecast center internet numbers
cause ya no cube desk jockey weekend warrior never looks unless he plans on bc skiing that day:rolleyes2
getting really fucking old, however my days in bc are up exponentially, haven't been in an unintentional slide in a couple decades, wiser but older? I doubt it
Locally there are groups of retirees hitting the backcountry that we’re not there a decade ago. Many retired here and are doing this for the first time in their lives. But I don’t see them taking risk that a lot of side country skiers take out of ignorance, so I just think it’s that they have the time to be out there more than a lot of us who still are hustling the job while chasing powder on the side.