Mountain Minds Monday

The standardization of alpine ski-boot-binding systems and shop practices has resulted in significant injury prevention worldwide. These successes first began with scientific methods of discovery to better understand how alpine equipment works as a system (including the skier), and later how engineering designs and best practices might impact resolution

Please join Tahoe Silicon Mountain, a local network of entrepreneurs and professionals, on Monday, December 13th at 5pm, to hear a panel moderated by Heidi Ettlinger with ski industry experts Dave Carpenter, Dave Dodge, and Jasper Shealy, who have spent over fifty years studying snowsport related injuries, evolving safety practices, and innovating ski, binding, and boot designs.

This presentation will include the work of Carl Ettlinger who, over the course of his lifetime, became a distinguished researcher, discovering methods to reduce ski injuries which led to the production of testing devices, training workshops, and videos to make skiing a safer sport. His collaborative research and resulting innovations have saved the skiing public from tibial fractures costing conservatively by an estimated $600 million dollars annually. Carl was recognized by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) with the honorary title of Fellow for “meritorious and dedicated leadership of the ASTM International Committee F27 and for conducting the seminal research that provided the technical basis for standards that have materially improved skiing safety worldwide.” Carl also received the Carson White Golden Quill Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Snowsports by the North American Snowsports Journalists Association. To learn more about the inventions we rely on today for snowsport safety, visit Carl’s work here: https://www.thesnowpros.org/2020/07/16/remembering-carl-ettlinger/

The panel will discuss:
Which design problems have been resolved and what still need to be addressed.
How have ASTM | ISO Standards influenced worldwide cost savings due to injury avoidance.
How important it is to conduct routine equipment inspections and testing of one’s ski-binding-boot system.
What the research demonstrates on helmets’ dramatic reduction in serious head injuries vs. fatalities.
What information was discovered during four decades of data collection from the Sugarbush Project, and how these research findings continue to inform equipment development today – including the present compatibility guidelines between ski boot soles and binding types.

Please join us on Monday, December 13th, at 5:00 PM online at bit.ly/YouTubeTSM. The event will be available on YouTube as a livestream and after the event. Livestream for this event starts at 5:00 PM on bit.ly/YouTubeTSM, or log onto YouTube and search for Tahoe Silicon Mountain.