Officials are saying that 17-year-old skier found unconscious at Nakiska Ski Resort hit a tree and is recovering in hospital.
At around 4:00 p.m., ski patrollers found a young man, alone and unconscious on the hill.
He was airlifted to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance in life threatening condition, but doctors say he is improving.
The 17-year-old was wearing a helmet and officials say that may have made the difference in saving his life.
While helmets don’t work every time, data shows there is a 60 percent drop in the risk of head injuries when they are worn.
Helmets aren’t mandatory while you are out on the slopes, but an increasing number of skiers and snowboarders say they are making the choice to wear them.
“The old school way was ‘oh they're not comfortable or you can't hear’, but now you can hear and they're comfortable and the bonus is they're warm, so there's no reason not to be wearing one,” says Matt Mosteller with Rocky Mountain Resorts.
“Sometimes when when you’re doing jumps you can crash and hit your head. And if you don’t wear a helmet it would be very bad in the future,” said Ben Gerrits. “I always wear my helmet.”
The Canadian Ski Council says that in the past 14 years, helmet usage has grown from 32 to 87 percent.
