Local skiers often assume that those killed on the slopes of Colorado’s ski resorts are tourists new to skiing or riding, but that couldn’t be further from the deadly truth.

The average person who died on the slopes of U.S. ski resorts during the 2015-16 season was a 30-something experienced male skier wearing a helmet who hit a tree going too fast on an intermediate run, according to the National Ski Area Association’s annual report on safety.

“Beginners on green runs tend to be more cautious,” said Jasper Shealy, a professor emeritus of the Rochester Institute of Technology who analyzes ski safety data. “It’s when you get on the blue runs with a mix of abilities and speeds that things become less controlled.”

Shealy analyzes safety data for the National Ski Area Association and has studied ski safety trends for more than 30 years. Through those years he has seen a steady pattern: most fatalities at resorts happen on blue, or intermediate, runs.

Historically, Colorado’s skier fatalities mirror the national trend, both in skier profile and terrain. Colorado averages 11 deaths on its slopes each year according to Colorado Ski Country USA, a trade association representing state resorts.

Nine of the 10 skiers and boarders killed at Colorado resorts in the 2015-16 season were involved in collisions, according to news reports. In those collisions, seven people hit trees, one hit a fixed post and one hit another skier. The tenth died after suffocating in a tree well. Only one of those killed last year was a woman. Seven of the 10 deadly accidents occurred on blue runs; nine of the 10 killed were men.

“If you think about it, experienced skiers are the ones who are pushing the boundaries,” said Dave Byrd, director of risk and regulatory affairs for the National Ski Area Association, which designates January as Ski Safety Month. “They are the ones skiing faster, skiing closer to the trees and in the trees, because that’s where the powder is.”

There is also the matter of the odds increasing with the number of days you get in each season.

“If you’ve been skiing or boarding for a long time, the risks aren’t at the forefront of your mind,” said Chris Linsmayer, of Colorado Ski Country USA, which represents all the state’s non-Vail resorts. “When you’ve been skiing for 15 years, it’s easy to forget that the dangers are the same every day you ski and every time you take a run.”

Linsmayer said Colorado resorts strive to keep visitors safe regardless of their ability level.

“We try to keep the issue of safety in front of people every chance we get,” said Stephanie Sweeney of Copper Mountain, which posts attention-getting signs such as, “Protect Your Grill, Look Uphill,” throughout the resort.

Preparing for everything

The challenge of safety awareness grows with things that happen less often, such as suffocating in a tree well, or getting caught in an in-bounds avalanche — especially since the skiing public is less informed on some safety issues than others.

“We do everything in our power to assure our terrain is safe to use,” Sweeney said. “But the skier has to also make sure they have the knowledge to stay safe before they head out skiing.”

Current conditions aside, in-bounds avalanche danger might not be at the front of a resort skier’s mind — they’re relatively rare. Two avalanche fatalities in 2012 marked the first in-bounds avalanche deaths in Colorado since 2006 and are among only four in the state’s modern skiing history.

In the trees, there’s another danger that can trap a skier or rider. “There are plenty of people who aren’t familiar with the danger of tree wells,” said Candace Horgan, a spokesperson for the National Ski Patrol.

Tree wells are formed when low branches keep snow from filling in around the trunk of the tree. When a skier or boarder falls into a tree well, usually headfirst, the loose snow acts like quicksand. The more one struggles to get out, the deeper he or she is buried.

Tree wells account for about 5 percent of resort deaths nationwide, according to the Northwest Avalanche Institute. “It is relatively rare,” Horgan said. “But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

“Your best protection is to ski with a partner who can help you get out.”

Slowing down

Resorts are aware that speed is a factor in accidents.

Vail Resorts has a program that puts passes on display that were taken from people who were skiing too fast. Vail also advertises the number of passes revoked or suspended each week in local papers and requires pass holders with ski or snowboard infractions to attend a safety awareness class before their pass can be reactivated, said Liz Biebl of Vail Resorts.

Speed factors into another commonly-held misconception about skier fatalities: the amount of protection a helmet provides.

“Helmets have all but done away with lacerations and made injuries less serious than they would have been — for example, preventing a concussion,” Shealy said. “When I began studying helmets in the early ‘90s, hardly anyone was wearing one. Now more than 80 percent of skiers and snowboarders do, and the fatality rate hasn’t changed one iota.”

Much of this has to do with the fact that helmets are tested to be effective up to 10 to 15 mph, Shealy said. But skiers and snowboarders average closer to 25 to 27 mph. He said injuries occurring during high-speed collisions overwhelm any protection the helmet can provide.

“I tell people to wear a helmet, but ski or ride like they don’t have one on,” Byrd said.

“I’ve come to think of it this way: the safer I ski, the more days on the slopes I have ahead of me.”

Be Informed

Individual resorts have safety information particular to their resorts on their websites. Check it out before you ride.

General ski safety information: coloradoski.com

Information about tree wells: deepsnowsafety.org