SPEN, Colo., March 30 — As another ski season winds down, industry officials in Colorado are puzzling over why more people have died in skiing accidents this winter than ever before, a record that has brought new attention to the use of helmets for protection against serious head injuries.

So far, the death toll in Colorado is 15 — 14 skiers and 1 snowboarder — surpassing the previous high of 12 set in the winter of 1998-99. In only one case this season was the victim wearing a helmet.

The accidents fall into no discernible pattern. Among the victims, eight were male, seven were female. Their ages were 5 to 67, and their accidents occurred at nine resorts, where some were skiing on expert slopes while others were on intermediate and easy trails.

"Unfortunately, there was no common element," said Mike Kaplan, vice president for mountain operations for the Aspen Skiing Company, which runs four ski areas here where five of this season's deaths occurred. "I almost wish there were. Then we could take more decisive action."

Skiing accidents are not unlike car crashes. They can happen at any time and often arise from a momentary lapse in judgment or an irresponsible decision. Ski industry officials contend that the number of deaths this year does not necessarily reflect any dangerous new trends.

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times Darren and Bonnie Dematteo of New York, with children Noah, 3, and Alexandra, 5, prepared for a day on the slopes recently in Aspen, Colo. Topics  Alerts Skiing Colorado Vail Resorts Incorporated Accidents and Safety Create Your Own | Manage Alerts Take a Tour Sign Up for Newsletters

Annual fatality surveys by the National Ski Areas Association show that in the 17 years of tracking, the total has fluctuated for no apparent reason, with as many as 49 deaths in the 1994-95 season and as few as 24 in 1989-90. Last season, 47 people died. The association has not yet compiled a national number for the current season.

But the skiing deaths in Colorado have recharged a debate over the value of helmets, and no incident fueled arguments for their use more than the death of Leonie Arguetty, 5, of Wellington, Fla., who skied into a tree at Aspen Highlands during a private lesson in February. Medical experts said she was one of several victims who might have survived had they worn helmets.

Her death, one of four at Highlands this winter, prompted company officials to require all children under 6 attending ski school to wear helmets, a change that took effect last week.

Next season, all children under 12 must wear helmets, a requirement that Vail Resorts is also planning for next season. David Perry, chief executive of Colorado Ski Country, a trade organization, said he expected other resorts to follow.

It is a change that has been hailed by many medical officials, who say helmets can reduce the severity of head injuries, which account for as much as 90 percent of all skiing deaths. Mr. Kaplan said the changes at the ski school were also designed to create habits, so children would continue wearing helmets as they got older and persuade their parents to start wearing them.

No major resort in North America requires adults to wear helmets.

Industry experts, as well as emergency room doctors, warn that helmets are no substitute for responsible behavior on the slopes and that in the case of headstrong skiers, especially teenagers, they may encourage foolish behavior by providing a false sense of security.

Jasper E. Shealy, a retired professor of industrial engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology who has studied skiing accidents for 30 years, said he worried that many skiers might regard helmets as "a coat of armor" that might encourage them to take chances.

He also cited studies that showed helmets were effective only up to 12 miles an hour, a relatively slow speed for many skiers. "If you're going 25 to 40 miles an hour," he said, "helmets are not going to provide much protection."

But other ski injury experts disagreed, and some, like Dr. A. Stewart Levy, a neurosurgeon in Denver, said that even at higher speeds, helmets could reduce the seriousness of some head injuries.

Dr. Steve Ayers, an emergency room physician in Aspen and the Pitkin County coroner, said at least two of the victims at Aspen Highlands — Robert Littlewood, 67, of Park City, Utah, and Tanja Ehrmann, 26, of Germany, who were killed in accidents on expert trails — might have survived had they been wearing helmets.

He said Mr. Littlewood fell, knocked himself out and slid down an embankment before he was buried under the snow and died of asphyxiation. Ms. Ehrmann, he said, fell and hit her head, knocking herself out, and then bounced along a number of moguls that he guessed caused the brain injuries that killed her.

Peggy Devan, coordinator of the ski school at Aspen Highlands, is an advocate for helmets. It has become an easy sell, she said, especially after the death of the Florida girl.

Waiting for her son Jack, 5, Judy Dolgin of Los Angeles, said she had never worn a helmet skiing but would now strap one on if any of her children asked. Her daughters, 11 and 9, are avid skiers and helmet wearers.

But not all parents are convinced. Ms. Dolgin's friend Carrie Adelson of Brentwood said it was proper for children like her 5-year-old son and daughter, Jeffrey and Lauren, who began skiing three years ago.

"Better safe than sorry," she said, helping them out of their equipment. "How could it possibly hurt?"

As for herself, she said, it was too late to change.

"Not me," she said. "I just can't do it."