Skiing and Snowboarding

Shirking Responsibility on the Slopes Could Land You in Court

By Allen Smith, 1-04-11

	Being ejected from skis means your skis can fly through the air and hit someone else. Part of the skiing code of conduct means always using devices that prevent runaway equipment. Photo by Flickr user Nadya Peek.

Take a moment to imagine a small- to medium-sized city at rush hour. Drivers and pedestrians, all with their own agendas, are scurrying home, rushing to pick up the kids or meet friends for dinner. Now add darkness, freezing rain and poor visibility. Finally, imagine that none of the people behind the wheel have driver’s licenses or have ever taken a driving lesson or test. You now have an accurate picture of a large ski resort on a weekend day at 3:30 p.m.

Unless you’ve taken a lesson or bothered to read one of the thousands of signs posted at the base of American ski lifts, chances are you may not be aware of the rules resorts promote to reduce injuries and insure safe skiing and snowboarding. They’re called the Skiers Responsibility Code.

Established in 1966 by the National Ski Areas Association as a code of ethics for skiers on the mountain, the Skiers Responsibility Code is a set of seven common-sense suggestions to follow while on the mountain:

1. Always stay in control, and be able to stop or avoid other people or objects. Like driving a car, skiers and boarders should be prepared to stop at a moment’s notice – that means skiing at less than 100 percent of their capability, even if they feel safe enough to do so. With thousands of skiers each with their own destination (which can change from one moment to the next), skiers need to be able to expect the unexpected.

2. People ahead of you have the right of way. It is the skier’s responsibility to respect the people ahead and avoid them. There is NO flexibility on who has the right of way; if the other skier is ahead or downhill of you, even by a boot length, he or she has the right of way. The code is simple and clear.

3. You must not stop where you obstruct a trail, or are not visible from above. Just like the rules of the road, common sense tells skiers that if they need to stop to answer their cell phone, pull off to the side, away from descending skiers. This is especially important when standing at the bottom of a rolling hill. Many skiers and snowboarders enjoy the thrill of launching themselves off of hills and jumps. Skiers need to make sure that they’re not standing in the other skier’s landing zone.

4. Whenever starting downhill or merging into a trail, look uphill and yield to others. Before pushing off to continue a run, ALWAYS look both ways, downhill and uphill to avoid oncoming skiers. This is especially important when entering intersections of runs. Skiers and riders entering runs should always yield to those who are already skiing downhill.

5. Always use devices to help prevent runaway equipment. All modern skis are equipped with ski brakes – steel prongs that drag across the snow when the boot releases from the binding. Snowboarders should wear safety straps or other methods of controlling runaway equipment. Runaway skis can reach high speeds and become airborne, hitting other skiers.

6. Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas. Every rope and warning sign on the mountain has a reason for being there. Before the resort opens (and periodically throughout the season), the resort’s ski patrol ropes off potential danger areas. Even an act as simple as cutting under a barrier can resort in the loss of your season pass at many resorts.

7. Prior to using any lift, you must have the knowledge and ability to load, ride and unload safely. Even with all of the safety features built into modern lifts, skiers and snowboarders must respect that lifts are heavy equipment. And even well-trained lift operators can occasionally miss an inexperienced skier embedded in a maze of hundreds of riders. Before riding any lift (whether it be a simple rope tow, T-bar, high-speed quad or gondola), skiers and boards should have someone help them on their first attempt.

Unlike some sports such as scuba diving or flying an airplane, there are no licensing requirements to participate in skiing and snowboarding or renting equipment. Fed up with the skyrocketing costs of tending to guest injuries and lawsuits, major resorts are now taking aggressive steps to enforce the skiers’ responsibility code and educate the public. Vail Mountain in Colorado employs a fleet of safety specialists called “Yellow Jackets.” Yellow Jackets work closely with resort management and ski patrol to insure safer skiing conditions on the mountain.

And if you think that resorts are making a big deal about nothing, consider the legal ramifications should you become involved in a skiing accident where someone is hurt.

In 2003, a British skier was brought up on manslaughter charges for colliding with an American skier in Breckenridge. According to court records, Robert Wills of Plymouth, England, hit Richard Henrichs with such force, that the collision sent Henrichs out of his skis and into a tree 5 feet away. He later died of his injuries.

In another case, the parents of 8-year-old Scott Swimm were sued by 60-year-old David Pfahler of Allentown, Pa., when Swimm allegedly skied into him from behind at a high rate of speed, causing him to crash and injure his shoulder.

“What my husband and I are actually focusing on is trying to get skier legislation changed so that children under the age of 10 are exempt from the Ski Safety Act, because why do we expect our 8-year-old children to be held to the same standard as you and I?” Swimm’s mother said. She was referring to the Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1979, signed into legislation for the purpose of defining reasonable safety standards for the operation of Colorado ski areas and the skiers using them.

Pfahler sued the Swimms for $75,000 by hiring Denver Attorney Jim Chalat of Chalat, Hatten & Koupal. Chalat claimed that, “There are a lot of activities in which children engage in which they have a diminished standard of care,” Chalat said. “Skiing is not one of them. (Skiing is) no different than if you put a 16-year-old behind a wheel [of a car]. You put a 16-year-old on a bicycle or in another circumstance, then you might get a diminished standard of care, but behind a wheel, they’re subject to adult standards.”

Swimm’s mother countered by saying, “Why do we expect children to be held to the same standards and accountability as adults?… It’s ruining skiing. By doing what they’ve done, they’re taking away the freedom of a child who’s learning a sport. So let’s just keep our children locked up safely in the living room with their video games and their television where nobody can do them harm and they can’t harm anyone. Is that what we want to do?” Ultimately, The Swimms agreed to a $25,000 settlement in their son’s ski crash instead of going to trial.

So, how seriously should the average skier take his or her responsibility when out on the hill? Very seriously. But by following sound, common-sense decisions and educating our children about the rules of the road, skiing should remain exactly what it is – one of the simplest ways to left to experience fresh air and the freedom of a child.

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