title: 'Acceptable Risk' vs Danger.
abstract: Most of us who enjoy sports can recall one or two close brushes with catastrophe. Or at least we can remember an incident that gives us chills when we reflect back on it. I have a few such memories, mostly related to mountaineering and skiing. The most indelible one dates back to a day when I was skiing at high speed down a steep slope in whiteout conditions. Without realizing it I flew off a snowy lip and became airborne, unaware I had rotated upside down. I landed directly on my head and felt a "crack" when my neck flexed forward. After picking myself up, I realized I was all right, but I still shudder when I think how close I came to breaking my neck.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: G O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Matheson