For all of us who enjoy skiing or snowboarding, we know that it can be a dangerous sport. For a lot of us we have either suffered injury, be it big or small, or we know someone that has. Over the years safety has become a bigger concern. But, what if there is an issue that may not have anything to do with safety?

We are looking at two incidents that were reported yesterday that may not have involved safety issues.

The first was at Breckenridge where a 71-year-old man was pronounced dead after being found unconscious on a trail at the resort. His name has not been released and the cause of death has not been confirmed by the coroner. However, it was stated that it did not appear that the man had crashed.

The second was at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort in British Columbia. A skier was reported late by a friend and after a sweep of the hill the skier was found. He was taken to the hospital, but pronounced dead. Again, there isn't much more information beyond that.

As dangerous as skiing is, it seems that safety isn't always the issue. For both of the skiers mentioned here, it could have been a question of health, especially for the older gentleman. Until determined by officials from both areas it could be a question of anything. It could even be something that could not have been prevented.

It's an oddity to have more than one story like this. But, if you are going out there, make sure you are up for it. Make sure you have all of your safety gear ready and know how to use it. Make sure you are in the shape to be up there. In fact, take every precaution that you can. Not that you have to be scared and wrap yourself in a bubble wrap with your own personal medical staff following you about. Just make sure that you are conscious of your surroundings and yourself.

Photo Credit: Christof Damian (cdamian) from Barcelona, Spain [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons