Plight of the Out-of-Bounds Skier

Dec 13, 2006  ·  08:44 PM  ·  permalink

The news around the Colorado ski industry lately is an increase in the fines associated with the 1979 Colorado Skier Safety Act (176 kb PDF): duck a rope and it could cost you $1000 these days—up from $300.

Resorts want skiers and riders to respect their closures for many excellent economic and safety reasons and under Colorado Law, we’re obligated to do so. But it’s helpful to understand the relationship of the ski resorts to the public.

Most ski resorts exist on National Forest—federal lands which the public are entitled to use. According to a story published in the Deseret News on April 6, 2006:

“Ducking under the boundary ropes or scooting around the gates to ski and snowboard in the backcountry outside a developed resort might not be a very bright move, but it’s not against federal law, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“‘We do not consider it a crime to leave the permit area. It goes against our grain to close the national forests,’ Forest Service spokesman Matt Mathes told The Associated Press on Monday.”

Further, although some resorts would claim that it is the skier’s responsibilty to know what areas have been closed, the Colorado Ski Safety Act sets out guidelines for resorts’ obligations in regard to closure markings and specifies the skier’s responsibilities:

33-44-107 (4): If a particular trail or slope or portion of a trail or slope is closed to the public by a ski area operator, such operator shall place a sign notifying the public of that fact at each identified entrance of each portion of the trail or slope involved. Alternatively, such a trail or slope or portion thereof may be closed with ropes or fences.

33-44-107 (6): The ski area operator shall mark its ski area boundaries in a fashion readily visible to skiers under conditions of ordinary visibility. Where the owner of land adjoining a ski area closes all or part of his land and so advises the ski area operator, such portions of the boundary shall be signed as required by paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section. This requirement shall not apply in heavily wooded areas or other nonskiable terrain.

33-44-109 (3): No skier shall ski on a ski slope or trail that has been posted as “Closed” pursuant to section 33-44-107 (2) (e) and (4).

33-44-109 (11): No person shall knowingly enter upon public or private lands from an adjoining ski area when such land has been closed by its owner and so posted by the owner or by the ski area operator pursuant to section 33-44-107 (6).

The upshot? Don’t knowingly enter areas that are marked closed and know what the markings are—the Skier Safety Act specifies them in pretty plain language.

Also, understand that “The ski area operator shall have no duty arising out of its status as a ski area operator to any skier skiing beyond the area boundaries marked as required by section 33-44-107 (6).” In other words, when you cross outside the boundaries of a ski area—whether into open or closed terrain—you are on your own.

Remember, also, that every year skiers and riders freeze to death, suffocate in avalanches, die of dehydration, and suffer all kinds of hardships while skiing out of bounds. If it’s a choice you make, get avalanche and winter survival training and go prepared.

Lou Dawson has an excellent discussion of the issues involved in skiing out of bounds with insights into how resorts manage their boundaries.

Photo: BurbAngst Studios. Some rights reserved.