A new law requiring all children under 14 to wear helmets on the slopes has been rushed into resorts in Austria following the death of a mother in a high-speed collision on the piste. Beata Christandl died of head injuries after a collision with a German politician, Dieter Althaus, at a combined speed of 60mph. Althaus, who was wearing a helmet, survived the impact, but suffered a skull fracture and remains in a coma.

Mrs Christandl is the 17th skier to die in an accident on the piste in Austria this season, and the authorities are under increasing pressure to extend the law to cover snow-sports enthusiasts of all ages. Doctors say sustained sub-zero conditions have created faster pistes, making impacts significantly more severe when skiers collide. Christian Kaulfersch, an A&E doctor, said: “Crashes at 30mph are like falling onto concrete from a second-floor balcony.”

Austrian authorities predict 5,500 serious head injuries on the slopes this season, and Swiss resorts report about 150 cases every day. Josef Schmid, of the Austrian skiing federation, supports making helmets compulsory for all skiers. “We recommend that all skiers wear helmets,” he said. “It’s not just young children — adults also need protection. With the new carving skis, people tend to ski faster and overestimate their abilities. The slopes are very busy; it’s safer for everyone if you wear a helmet.”

Before now, helmet use has been mandatory only in some Italian resorts, and only for skiers under the age of 14, but Betony Garner, of the Ski Club of Great Britain, which recommends helmet use for under-14s, says increasing numbers of skiers and snowboarders are seeing the benefit of head protection: “Lots of twentysomethings wear helmets because it makes them look like a freerider, but I’ve seen increasing numbers of mothers and older men wearing helmets.”

Yet Dr Mike Langran, of the International Society for Skiing Safety, warns that wearing head protection won’t necessarily save a skier’s life. “Helmets may prevent or reduce the severity of many minor or moderate head injuries, but there is no data to support the idea that they will protect against fatal head injuries,” he said. “The absolute risk of a serious head injury is extremely small, and in my opinion — and that of most ski-injury experts — does not warrant making the wearing of ski helmets mandatory.

“The single most important thing is for skiers and boarders to ski/board within the level of their ability — don’t try speeds, slopes or tricks way beyond your ability level.”

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