‘I don’t want to be responsible for a brain injury': Avid skier snubs his reckless cousin after they neglect basic safety measures

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 11, 2024 1:00 PM EST

It's snow season again and you know what that means– city slickers wearing jeans on the lift, clogging up the bunny slopes, and tearing apart the moguls. For an avid skier or snowboarder, there's always a love-hate relationship with the newbies. While we're happy that others are interested in a snow sport, it can get a little dangerous on the mountain when the new kids on the block are trying to get Insta-famous and spiraling out of control. 

Newsflash to everyone out there this season– the least you can do is wear a helmet. 

Inevitably, there are always crashes on the slopes, but when you've got precious cargo in your dome, that needs to be the priority when it comes to self-protection. However, in our next story, an avid skier was faced with the difficult decision of accompanying a novice on the slopes, even when they refused to wear a helmet. Scroll onward to read the satisfyingly stubborn account of how one man refused to cut corners just so that his San Diego-native cousin could have a nice hairdo.

"I'd rather be alive and uncool"

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  • 01
    "I'd rather be alive and uncool"
    via canva
  • 02
    r/Amlthe. Life-Baby-7752 19 hr. ago AITA for refusing to teach my cousin and his gf to ski because they didn't want to wear helmets? Not the Throwaway from my main account On Sat I picked up my cousin and his gf from their Airbnb. They are from the south and never skied before. I
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 03
    live an hour from one of the best ski resorts in the US and I'm a pretty good skier so I invited them to come skiing. They had been on bunny hills the previous year but otherwise no other experience. I didn't check that they had helmets. I just told them to go to a ski rental place where it's cheaper than at the resort to get skis, poles, boots, ski pants and a helmet.
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 04
    My bf came in his car and we got to the ski resort and there I noticed they didn't have ski pants and a helmet. I told them they would be miserable without ski pants and they were also missing a helmet. The ski rental place on the slopes had a helmet but no ski pants. His gf wanted to wear leggings skiing which I told them would be a terrible idea but they ignored me and told me they didn't want to wear helmet either. I
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 05
    told them I wasn't going to be taking them without a helmet and they argued it was their choice. Turns out they wanted to take photos and thought helmets made them look dorky. They also before coming here said they were scared that skiing was dangerous and I had to assure them we wouldn't be doing anything dangerous. So how can they be worried for their safety but refuse to wear a helmet?!
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 06
    I told them to stay at the resort and rent out some snowshoes or cx skiing as there was also some other things to do and my bf and I would be skiing. They argued with me for nearly an hour that I couldn't control what they did and they paid for the rentals so they should be allowed to ski. Finally I told them they could do what they wanted but I'm not teaching them and
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 07
    left. They didn't do anything just moped and I kind of feel bad that they didn't do anything with their day but AITA for refusing to teach them because they wouldn't wear a helmet. I don't want to be responsible for them and have them get a brain injury because they decided to be idiots. But since it was their choice should I have taught them and if they got hurt it was on them?
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 08
    Love Beach8 - 19h ago Prime Ministurd [562] ΝΤΑ Would you take them on a motorcycle ride without a helmet on their heads? No, of course not. I'd much rather have helmet hair in a photo than have hair on the gurney or the coroner's table. You did the right thing. I'm a nurse who used to work in the ER. I've seen too many people who didn't take precautions. And they paid for it with their lives.
    via LoveBeach8
  • 09
    e 15h ago Absolutely NTA. I've come off a horse and hit my head enough times to know I'd be dead if I hadn't been wearing a helmet. I'd rather be alive and uncool. 421 + voxetpraetereanihill Reply ↑ Share LoveBeach8 14h ago Prime Ministurd [562] I'd rather be alive and uncool, too!
    via voxetpraetereanihill
  • 10
    The_Bad_Agent 19h ago Supreme Court Just- [105] ΝΤΑ Maybe taking little kids skiing for the first time was a mistake. If they're too little to understand the need for a helmet, they shouldn't even be there. I'm assuming they're 12-14, and their parents paid, right?
    via The_Bad_Agent
  • 11
    Life-Baby-7752 OP 19h ago . I think this is sarcastic but nope they are in their mid 20s and so am I Reply ↑ Share 343 + More replies u399566 16h ago Edited 11h ago Partassipant [2] Little kids are actually really easily to convince to wear a helmet, at least in my experience.. Safety first.. you know...
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 12
    jmbbl 19h ago Colo-rectal Surgeon [45] I once biked to a doctor's appointment without a helmet and the doctor said something to me along the lines of, "The value of the helmet is directly proportional to the value of what it's protecting." I think that applies here. NTA
    via jmbbl
  • 13
    secret_identity_too 18h ago I play ice hockey and a good helmet is the most important piece of gear I own. In fact, it's almost time for me to replace mine. We don't play high level, no checking or anything like that, but happens all the time and I need to go to work the next day.
    via secret_identity_too
  • 14
    Troppy Pop 19h ago Partassipant [1] NTA. Part of the teaching you offered was teaching them proper safety. You did, and they didn't learn the lesson. Skiing is dangerous af. Someone could have gotten hurt, and they sound like the type who would turn around and blame you when their "choice" turned into a tragedy. Reply ↑ Share 148 ... dls9543 16h ago Pretty much any sport where there's a liability waiver means bring a helmet.
    via TroppyPop
  • 15
    makingotherplans 19h ago Partassipant [2] NTA, if they were that desperate, they could have taken photos beforehand outdoors without helmets, and photoshopped their heads onto their other pictures later. And skiing without goggles can be painful, sunglasses are not a safe substitute Legally required or not, all instructors I know insist you wear a helmet while getting lessons, same for hills-it's the insurance!
    via makingotherplans
  • 16
    And if it's cold enough then the snow pants will prevent frostbite on some, um, delicate parts of the body. She is likely worried she'd look fat. sigh I know it is hard for people new to a cold climate to understand, but to switch it around, if you went south and refused to take their advice to wear sunblock or a hat or light weight clothes and got sunstroke or a major blistering burn...then they'd be shaking their heads and refusing to take you places, no?
    via makingotherplans
  • 17
    Green_Tension_6640 - 18h ago I'm gonna take a hike in that pretty desert without a gps or water. What could go wrong Reply ↑ Share 36 Teagana999. 17h ago And if I saw their photoshopped picture I would have called them dumb for not wearing a helmet. How is it that in 2024 people still think helmets look dumber than people doing dangerous without helmets?
    via Green_Tension_6640
  • 18
    lovetotravelanytime 19h ago Partassipant [2] Hard NTA. Your cousin and his girl friend care more about the photos then their safety. TBIs are no joke and you can absolutely get them skiing. My only advice is to walk away sooner next time. Had they been injured you never would have heard the end of it.
    via lovetotravelanytime
  • 19
    CassieW309. 19h ago Certified Proctologist [20] NTA Unless there is a rule at the resort, they aren't obligated to wear helmets. But at the same time, you aren't obligated to teach them.
    via CassieW309
  • 20
    Asparagus Decent9062 19h ago The helmet is a deal breaker for me, but they would have been MISERABLE without snowpants. New skiiers fall like... oh, every six seconds? These are young kids eh? Was there no conversation before hand with you or anyone about what to bring? They probably had no idea they needed ski pants. Helmets though, yeah, wear a NTA, and NAH. I don't expect teenagers from Miami to understand Ski attire lol helmet.
    via AsparagusDecent9062
  • 21
    Life-Baby-7752 OP • 19h ago I sent them a text with a list and told them which ski rental shop to get everything from. Cousin is 26 and I think gf is 24. They haven't been in the cold much (from San Diego) so they don't really know what it feels like lol
    via Life-Baby-7752
  • 22
    FuzzyMom2005 - 19h ago . Craptain [150] NTA. They didn't look around at all the people wearing helmets and see the light? Oh, well, at least their hair looked good. 451 ↓ Reply Share enjoyingtheposts • 17h ago no way your hair looks good after going down the slopes either lol
    via FuzzyMom2005
  • 23
    filkerdave 19h ago Certified Proctologist [27] ΝΤΑ They aren't obligated to wear a helmet. You aren't obligated to teach them. They can pay for lessons. they'll be glad of their The first time they eat helmets. Ask me how I know. ↑ 50 + Reply ↑ Share Admirable_Remove6824 14h ago Funny a lot of ski hills are requiring helmets now.
    via filkerdave

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