Today's generation of young skiers and snowboarders has been brought up wearing helmets on the slopes, despite conflicting views about their efficacy. Most experts believe that if a skier hits a tree at a speed of more than 10 or 15 mph on an icy day, a helmet might not do much to save his or her life.

The high-profile accidents of Sonny Bono and Michael Kennedy a decade ago, neither of whom were wearing helmets, sparked that debate, but the more recent death of Natasha Richardson, who was not wearing a helmet but was skiing slowly on novice terrain, has raised the issue again. There is certainly some room to speculate that a helmet might have saved her.

As someone who once watched helplessly while her then-5-year-old daughter was hit in the back of the head by an oncoming chairlift -- she is fine, but the sizeable dent in her helmet tells the dramatic story -- I come down firmly on the side of wearing helmets, as do many parents.

When traveling to ski areas by car, my family and I bring our own, but when traveling by air, helmets take up much-needed packing space, so we find out whether the resort we are about to visit has them for rent.

Intrawest is now making that process a whole lot easier by including helmets in all children/youth ski and snowboard rental packages from all of its equipment rental outlets at its wholly owned ski resorts in North America. In addition, Intrawest is making helmets mandatory for all children who participate in ski and snowboard school programs as well as freestyle terrain park programs, regardless of their age.

Finally, the company is recommending that guests of all ages wear helmets, a move that has received the support of the National Ski Areas Association and Canada West Ski Areas Association. Intrawest will reinforce that message in advertisements, resort signage and other visuals.

Will these new guidelines deter some skiers and snowboarders from visiting Intrawest properties? Not likely, given that the company has some of the top-rated resorts in the industry. The helmet usage guidelines will be introduced this season at Copper Mountain, Winter Park and Steamboat in Colorado; Stratton Mountain in Vermont; Tremblant Resort in Quebec; and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia, among others.