Hello again, fellow skiers.  It’s snowing outside my window as we speak.  It seems that Mother Nature would like us to enjoy a few more weeks of skiing.  No complaints here.  The Loaf is reporting over 6 inches of fresh snow at the top.  Plans for tomorrow include a pleasant drive up Rt. 27 to survey the conditions firsthand, and to finally test out those Armadas. 

Spring skiing is in full swing, and with temperatures climbing, I have noticed a change among my fellow enthusiasts that is a little bit troubling.  What I am referring to, of course, is the lack of helmets on the hill.  I know it’s getting warm, and that old helmet is probably feeling a little too warm, but that’s a small price to pay for peace of mind, and, in the event of a crash, an intact skull.  And with the helmets put out in recent years, such as Smith’s Variant Brim (which has 22 fully adjustable vents, I’ve counted them!) and Giro’s G10mx (which is also very well-ventilated and extremely lightweight), there is really no excuse for not wearing this essential piece of protection. 

As the season has progressed, I’m certain your confidence level has progressed as well, and you’re skiing as well as you have all season.  The snow is soft, and you’re hitting lines, drops, and trails that might have scared you off earlier in the year.  Those bumps that looked so hard and unforgiving in January are a helluva lot easier to navigate now that they’re soft like buttah.  The ice that the East coast is so famous for seems like a distant memory.  But, with you skiing harder than ever, really starting to push the envelope, not wearing a helmet now is a mistake.  I consider myself to be an expert skier, and I’ve really been getting after it the past couple of weeks.  I’ve also had three crashes this season that would more than likely have resulted in concussions, if not, at the very least, a splitting headache, had I not been wearing a helmet.  Two of those crashes have been in the warm temperatures we’ve experienced in the last two weeks, when I’ve seen so many tossing their helmets aside for a ball cap and a pair of shades. 

If you have an old, heavy, clunky helmet with little or no ventilation that really gets the steam rolling off your head, now is the perfect time to upgrade to a new, light, more stylish choice that really lets in the cool breeze while you’re bombing down the hill.  That old helmet is not doing you any good if you’re leaving it back in the lodge with your backpack anyways. 

I know I’m sounding a bit preachy here.  The reality is that the choice is entirely yours.  But I do know that I will not hang my helmet up this season until my skis are parked right next to it, no matter how high the mercury climbs.  

Be sure to drop by tomorrow for my take on these Armadas, as well as my take on a couple of pieces of gear that are not necessarily essential, but really make for a more enjoyable day on the hill.  Thanks for tuning in folks, and I hope to see you on the hill tomorrow!

-Tommo, Park2Peak blogger/ski guru