Skiing and Snowboarding at Ski Resorts: Case Studies of Accidents

Millions of people take part in winter sports worldwide [1,2]. Downhill skiing and snowboarding are said to have beneficial effects on health [3], although they are also associated with a potential risk of injury. Previous studies report an injury rate of 4.6 per 1,000 skier-days [4], with differences between alpine skiers (2 to 10 injuries per 1,000 skier-days) and snowboarders (1 to 6 injuries per 1,000 snowboarder-days) [5,6]. The at-risk population in Spain was 5,155,380 during the 2024-2025 season [7], translating these percentages into a high number of injuries per year. The possibility of suffering a serious injury or death whilst skiing or snowboarding means that these are considered high-risk sports.