Not even a month has transpired since the tragic demise of 19-year-old Italian skiing prodigy Matilde Lorenzi when another teenager suffered a similar accident, this time in the States. The incident happened on Sunday, November 24, when a 17-year-old teenager fell and hit his head while skiing at the Brighton Resort in Utah. What’s worse? The teenager immediately became unresponsive.

The resort marketing director, Jared Winkler, revealed that the bystanders who witnessed the incident immediately rushed to the boy and performed CPR. Meanwhile, others called in ski patrol, who arrived at the scene within minutes. While the concerned bystanders couldn’t get the teen to respond, ski patrol took over the CPR and resuscitated him.

Surprisingly, the 17-year-old was “initially combative,” said Winkler, as per an ABC4 Utah report. However, the paramedics chalked up his behavior due to the initial trauma of the accident. Thankfully, snow patrol calmed the boy down, getting him off the slope on a toboggan and into an ambulance waiting downhill. They rushed him to the hospital for further treatment and care.

To say the teenager was lucky to escape with his life would be an understatement. Maybe it was partly because he was skiing at a much lower speed than late Italian skiing star Matilde Lorenzi. On October 28, days after the FIS Ski World Cup kickoff, Lorenzi was descending the high-speed Gravand G1 slope at Val Senales in Alto Adige.

However, last year’s Junior Super-G champ lost control in midair, resulting in a brutal crash and a head injury. Despite the challenging elevation, the medical team responded almost immediately. They intubated and airlifted the junior FIS Europa Cup Circuit competitor to San Maurizio Hospital in Bolzano. Yet despite their swift response, the doctors couldn’t revive Lorenzi.

Thankfully, this was not the case with the teenager in Utah. Jared Winkler also told ABC4 that the snow patrol checked in with the 17-year-old and his parents on Monday. The boy’s guardian informed the patrol that the boy was recovering well and that the hospital would discharge him later in the day unless any emergencies arose. Yet despite the positive outcome, one concern remains.

The issue of increasing injuries, even among competitive skiing pros

Amateurs who take to the slopes as a pastime only during winter may be more prone to accidents. However, in recent years, the injury rate among the pros has increased as well. Five-time overall World Cup champion Mikaela Shiffrin and her boyfriend Aleksander Kilde suffered injuries. While Shiffrin’s knee injury kept her out of action for a month, Kilde is still recovering.

Shiffrin’s rival Petra Vlhová also suffered a crash in January, derailing her season ambitions. After these accidents, Shiffrin even raised concerns about the seemingly increasing number of athletes enduring such career blows on the slopes. “Send my best to all of those who are currently sidelined (including Sofia Goggia, most recently).” Shiffrin posted on X in February 2024.

“The amount of injuries (especially among the top athletes) this year has been staggering…I absolutely agree with those who have asked that we take a better look at the demands on top athletes. Both from a race-calendar perspective as well as the schedule with evening programs.” added, Shiffrin. After making her comeback at Åre, Sweden, in March, Shiffrin said fatigue played a major role in the increased injuries.

Thankfully the FIS has taken some steps to alleviate the issue. According to a Twonlift Park City News report, the FIS has now spread out nine events for the men and eight for the women across nine locations. They’re also working to make tracks safer. The FIS also has a code of safe practices for amateurs.

However, despite these changes tragedies such as Matilde Lorenzi’s demise or the 17-year-old’s accident citnue to plague the skiing community. So what do you think? Is there a need to bolster safety measures and actively spread awareness or are crashes an unavoidable part of skiing? Let us know in the comments.