I would guess that about 70% of skiers in the US already wear helmets. In europe the number is much smaller. Maybe 10%. I never wore one until I saw a skier get killed by a snowboarder near Cordoba a few years ago. The snowboarder came over a rise and hit the skier directly in the head with the board. The first year I wore it, it saved me from getting my head sliced open after a collision with another skier. One of our edges from a lose ski cut a big slice into the front of my helmet. They are also great for keeping your head much warmer and being able to stay out for a couple more runs.
Last year when I wa skiing, they guy behind me fell and his snowboard went flying in front of him, exactly where I was. It hit my skiing pole so hard I thought it cracked it, and proceeded to keep on sailing into the woods. If that had been my head.....
I think I am off to the store......
Great. I respond to that the same way I respond to people who praise seat belts and motorcycle helmets: neither is a bad idea, and in fact, may have much to recommend them. But I’m a big boy, and I can decide for myself if I want to do things that are good for me or not. I don’t need the government following me around forcing me to “for my own good.”