That's certainly not a statistic I was was aware of ... as I blissfully skied Austria and Italy.
"Despite the recent incidents, Colorado is one of the safest places when it comes to riding lifts at ski resorts. According to an article by Outside Magazine, Colorado is one of 20 states that has a tramway safety board or some sort of third party regulatory agency for ski lifts. In addition, Colorado is considered to have one of the two most extensive safety boards in the country. At European ski resorts, the lift malfunction fatality rate is nine times higher than at U.S. ski areas."
Europe has a cavalier attitude about avalanches too.
Also, unlike the US, ski patrols in Europe do not try to protect skiers from themselves. The attitiude is "sorry you got hurt or died, BUT WE DID WARN YOU to be cateful at the start of your day."
