Should all skiers wear helmets?

Should all skiers wear helmets?

This is a question often under debate. What do you think?

Helmet use among skiers and boarders has been on the increase for the past few years. 
With many new styles and colours they are no longer uncool. 

If you ski in America you will be the uncool one if you don't have a helmet on!
I went to Whistler a few years back and by the end of my first day skiing I had a helmet. After eight years of skiing without one I will never ski with out one again. 

I am no ski dare devil but why take the risk? 

In Austria more experts wear helmets them than beginners.  Austrian experts estimate that 60 to 70 per cent of skiers and boarders wear helmets and it's estimated that in Switzerland around 84 per cent wear a helmet.

America’s National Ski Areas Association reports a 171 per cent rise in helmet use since 2003/04.  Back then less than 25 per cent of people wore one.

Head injuries typically occur as a result of a collision, or an impact with the snow. They often happen at high speed. While some people still choose not to wear a helmet, research published in the British Medical Journal shows that wearing one makes general head injuries 35 per cent less likely. 

Michael Schumacher's accident has brought the discussion back into our minds. 

The headlines read: 

Michael Schumacher 'fighting for his life' after skiing accident remains in a critical condition and fighting for his life after sustaining serious head injuries in an off-piste skiing accident at a resort in the French Alps. Doctors say former F1 world champion would not have survived accident in French Alps if he had not been wearing a helmet.

The question is .... Will you be wearing a helmet this season... I know I will! 

You can buy or rent, some resorts give them free with ski hire, so why not wear one? 

http://www.skiweb.uk.com/snow/ski-snowboard-helmets