Attendees of an event held Sunday by the Helmet Head Project, a group that gives away helmets to families in need for the upcoming ski season, wait in line to get their heads measured by Marquette Mountain employees and members of the Northern Michigan University Athletic Training Department. (Journal photo by Trinity Carey)

MARQUETTE — A line wrapped around the outside of the Marquette Mountain chalet Sunday afternoon as hundreds of people waited to get their heads measured for a proper fitting and free helmet for the upcoming ski season.

The Helmet Head Project began 20 years ago, originally funded by then Marquette General Hospital, with a mission to provide families who can’t afford ski helmets with the proper equipment to ski safely. This year, Upper Peninsula Health Plan, the Eagle Mine and UP Health System provided the funds to supply 150 Smith ski helmets and goggles to attendees of the event.

Aside from receiving a brand new helmet, the event makes skiers more safety-conscious before the skiing season starts, said Jim Grundstrom, patrol director of the Marquette Mountain Ski Patrol.

“As the head of the ski patrol, we’re the ones that unfortunately have to take care of you when you’ve had an accident of some kind, and head injuries are some of the most devious injuries without a doubt,” Grundstrom said. “Yes, you can break your leg and it will hurt a lot, but your leg will heal and you’ll ski another day. When you bump your head and your brain gets rattled around inside your skull, it’s very, very hard on your brain, so protecting your head and protecting your brain is a very important part of my world, and if we never have to take care of an injured guest, it’s the best day ever. If we have to take care of an injured guest, we’d like them protected as much as possible.”

Each attendee was measured for a helmet and then fitted again with their new helmet, with the help of the Northern Michigan University Athletic Training Department, to ensure a snug fit, a crucial aspect of helmet safety, Grundstrom added.

“Helmet sizing is critical,” he said. “That’s probably one of the most important things we want to talk about, is the fact that a helmet needs to fit today, it needs to fit for this season. We don’t want a helmet that you buy three years from now and put two junior hockey hats underneath it because it needs to fit well to protect your head.”

He added that some skiers prefer to wear hats under their helmets. If this is the case, Grundstrom recommends wearing a thin liner-type hat so that your helmet still moves with your head.

Grundstrom is grateful for the opportunity to help families in need ski safely. He hopes that those gifted with helmets will give them back to the Ski Swap held each year at Marquette Mountain once they’ve outgrown them, so others in need can enjoy them for years to come.

After getting fitted for helmets, attendees gathered to watch a brief presentation on chairlift safety and how the National Ski Patrol can act as a friend in a time of need on the mountain.

Also present at the event were organizers from For Cody, an effort that encourages skiers to always wear helmets in memory of Marquette teen Cody Revord, who passed away in 2015 from injuries sustained in a snowboarding accident. Cody typically wore a helmet on the slopes, but had taken it off the night of his accident. Members of Cody’s family passed out stickers and water bottles to remind skiers to wear their helmets “not just most of the time, but every time.”

“For Cody is to remind us all of the consequences of skiing and the danger of it,” Grundstrom said, “but it’s a very fun sport if you have the right equipment, the right lessons and the right knowledge.”

Trinity Carey can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243.