With the gaining popularity of backcountry skiing, Colorado ski areas, such as Monarch, Arapahoe Basin, Eldora, Breckenridge, Steamboat, Winter Park, etc. are providing access to backcountry terrain within resort boundary. Access gates to, what’s known as, sidecountry terrain are providing skiers and snowboarders an alternative way to experience extreme terrain off-piste. Although this terrain is technically on resort property, Colorado resorts are not responsible for the possible dangers that exist beyond the access gates. While the conversation of whether resorts are responsible for the danger beyond this access gates has lasted for decades, Colorado resorts are recently becoming more vocal about their responsibilities and those of the skiers who wish to ski sidecountry terrain.
Sidecountry Accident Goes to the Colorado Supreme Court
The dangers of skiing in the sidecountry have been validated in a recent case brought to the Colorado Supreme Court in 2016. The death case of Christopher Norris, who died in an in-bounds avalanche in Winter Park’s “Trestle Trees” in January 2012, was brought to the CSC to decide whether the ski resort was liable for the avalanche that caused his death. This case marked the tipping point for Colorado’s $4.8 billion snowsports industry, which ultimately affirmed that in-bound avalanches are an inherent risk as defined by the Colorado Ski Safety Act, and that resorts are not liable for such events when the resort has fulfilled its responsibilities. The headnote for Norris’s ruling states:
The Colorado Supreme Court holds that an avalanche that occurs within the bounds of a ski resort qualifies as an “inherent danger and risk of skiing” under the Ski Safety Act of 1979, §§ 33-44-101 to -114, C.R.S. (2015). The definition of “inherent dangers and risks of skiing” in section 33-44-103(3.5), C.R.S. (2015), specifically includes “snow conditions as they exist or may change.” By its plain meaning, this phrase encompasses an in-bounds avalanche, which is, at its core, the movement, or changing condition, of snow. As such, section 33-44-112, C.R.S. (2015), precludes skiers from recovering for injuries resulting from in-bounds avalanches.
The Colorado Ski Safety Act of 1979 requires ski areas to inform skiers about the risks associated with skiing and snowboarding and provides that skiers injured through them may not sue the ski area. “Each state differs but there is a consistency in the general protocol,” according to Mallory Lopez of Chalat Law; a Colorado law firm that focuses on ski law.
Who Holds the Responsibility for What Happens Beyond the Ropes?
According to Colorado Ski Country, a trade association that represents all Colorado ski areas, excluding those under Vail Resorts, ski areas are responsible for marking trails, posting various warnings, chairlift instructions (chairlift operations are governed by another law), marking certain structures, delineating boundaries and providing notice of on-mountain trail closures. Ski resorts also post a daily weather and avalanche report that can be accessed online prior to the resort’s daily operating hours. The Act spells out the responsibilities for the ski areas, but the responsibilities taken by the resorts do not end with this succinct list.
While Norris’s death caused recent controversy over liability, the misunderstanding of sidecountry skiing has provided a foundation for how ski areas should communicate the dangers of sidecountry skiing. The danger of an avalanche occurring in-bounds is just as unpredictable as it is deep in the backcountry, and while patrollers take the appropriate precautions in mitigating hazards on the mountain, there is always possibility for disaster.
Sidecountry Gives Skiers a False Sense of Security
According to Zach Moore, Ski Patrol Director at Monarch Mountain, the word sidecountry gives skiers a false sense of security. “There is in-bounds terrain and there is backcountry. Inbounds terrain utilizes ropes, signs, trail rating systems, marking, ski cutting, explosives, etc. to manage and mitigate hazards that may exist. Outside of a ski area boundary is backcountry. This is uncontrolled terrain that does not have any hazards mitigated.”
Monarch Mountain, located 20 miles south of Salida, offers three sidecountry access gates on their boundary. Mirkwood Basin is Monarch’s hike-to-ski sidecountry terrain that offers 130-acres of double-black diamond extreme skiing. Signs within the ski area boundary communicates that avalanche risk is ever present in this ungroomed terrain, and that caution should be taken.
The Monarch ski patrol provides extensive information about safety in their sidecountry terrain on their website, and expects those who access this terrain to take the appropriate measures before entering variable terrain. Moore continues to say that in Mirkwood, “we people to wear a beacon and carry avalanche gear, but do not require it. We have a beacon check station at the Mirkwood gate to help illustrate the recommendation of carrying a beacon. We also encourage people to ski with a partner and ask questions if they’ve never been up there before,” says Moore.
Active Ways to Avoid Danger in Sidecountry Terrain
Although there is risk in skiing out-of-bounds, there are safer ways to ski in the sidecountry. One of the most essential components of remaining safe in the backcountry is knowing how and when to use your avalanche gear. Several Colorado ski areas, including Monarch Mountain, Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Telluride, etc. have installed beacon training parks for skiers to practice using their beacon prior to entering uncontrolled terrain. Checking the snow report, taking the appropriate steps to educate yourself, having the proper safety equipment and knowing how to use it, and skiing with a buddy increase your security in sidecountry terrain, and will influence others to practice safe sidecountry skiing—even if just on the other side of the ropeline.
Dear Salaya, 