Ski Safety Blog

In an opinion issued yesterday, CLARKE v. CATAMOUNT SKI AREA, the New York State Supreme Court once again has held that a ski resort was immune from claims brought by an injured skier. The entirety of the opinion is presented below:

Plaintiff seeks damages for injuries he suffered when he and defendant Zack Lang collided while skiing at an area operated by defendant Catamount Development Corporation. This accident was the result of inherent risks in downhill skiing (see General Obligations Law § 18-101). Defendants made prima facie showings of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law based on the doctrine of assumption of risk; plaintiff admitted awareness of the inherent risks of downhill skiing and defendants submitted proof that they did not enhance such risks (see Farone v Hunter Mtn. Ski Bowl, Inc., 51 A.D.3d 601 [2008], lv denied 11 N.Y.3d 715 [2009]; Whitman v Zeidman, 16 A.D.3d 197 [2005]).

In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact. Plaintiff's speculative deposition testimony as to the reckless nature of Zack's skiing at the time of the collision is insufficient to defeat the motion for summary judgment. Further, the court properly declined to consider the affidavit of plaintiff's expert, given that plaintiff failed to timely disclose the expert's identity (see Harrington v City of New York, 79 A.D.3d 545, 546 [2010]). In any event, the conclusory affidavit is insufficient to raise an issue of fact as to whether defendants unreasonably increased the risks to which plaintiff was exposed (see Bedder v Windham Mtn. Partners, LLC, 86 A.D.3d 428 [2011]; Bono v Hunter Mtn. Ski Bowl, 269 A.D.2d 482 [2000], lv denied 95 N.Y.2d 754 [2000]).

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:14 PM | Permalink

Most of Colorado's larger resorts now offer insurance on their season passes, and buyers are increasingly taking advantage of policies that provide prorated returns in case of injury, illness or a job change that prevents skiing. Ski resorts, in turn, are implementing stricter no-refund policies because of the availability of the policies.

It is a win-win for the resorts, profit is made by selling the insurance policies and it allows the resort to adopt a no-refund policy. But for the average skier, it can be a tough decision. The cost of the insurance correlates with the price of the pass. Insurance on season passes to Vail's four Colorado hills, Copper Mountain and Intrawest's Winter Park and Steamboat cost $20, and a policy for Aspen Skiing's $1,819 premier pass costs $109.

Travel Guard, the largest provider of vacation travel insurance in North America, provides season-pass coverage to 20 ski areas across the country. The company's season-pass program began at Vail and has been adopted at Copper Mountain, Winter Park, Steamboat and all four Aspen Skiing Co. ski areas.

Vail Resorts, which began offering pass insurance five years ago, has adopted a strict zero-refund policy. The company estimates about 30 percent of its roughly 300,000 pass holders have insured their passes with policies that cost $20 for adults and $10 for kids.

This marks the ninth season Aspen Skiing has offered insurance on its season passes. Last season, 18 percent of people with passes purchased insurance and roughly 2.5 percent of those ended up filing claims. This year the company expects to sell even more policies.

Intrawest, which is offering $20 insurance pass policies at Winter Park and Steamboat for the first time this season, has also adopted a simple no-refund policy.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 2:40 PM | Permalink

In an acquisition that further expands Vail Resorts' digital media portfolio, the company's OnTheSnow.com -- part of Vail's Mountain News Corp. -- will take the reins of SkiReport.com, a popular website with snow reports and news from resorts across the continent.

The site's mobile app is highly popular, with 860,000 people using SkiReport's mobile iPhone and Android app on their smartphones. Those apps allow users to post photos and Twitter-style reports from the hill, generating hundreds of immediate snow reports from resorts across the country every day all winter. The site's daily snow reports are published on 1,500 different websites and 400 news media websites.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 11:21 AM | Permalink

A top executive from Aspen Skiing Co. and top ski athletes are heading to Capitol Hill today in an attempt to convince members of Congress to limit climate change. Auden Schendler, SkiCo's vice president of sustainability, will be accompanied by Olympian snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, pro skier Chris Davenport and pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones.

The group will join a panel with Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Sen. Mark Udall (R-Colo.) and Sen. Michael Bennet (R-Colo.) to discuss issues centered around carbon emissions and the Protect Our Winters (POW) movement. Thursday they will lobby eight senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as host a press conference regarding climate change.

The group had hoped to meet with more elected officials, but many senators either declined to meet with the group or were unavailable. Schendler noted that the Environmental Protect Agency is under attack by the GOP, some members of which would like to eliminate the agency. He added that though the GOP believes any regulation kills business, but SkiCo's position is that climate change kills it more.

The overriding point for the group on Capitol Hill is that it should be the role of the ski industry to be a leader in effecting change when it comes to carbon emissions and other environmental issues. The winter sports industry is a $66 billion-a-year industry, and therefore is influential.

This is the sixth trip to D.C. in recent years by SkiCo representatives on the issue. SkiCo reasons that if the "ski resort operators care about environment and sustainability, the ski industry's number one priority should not be operational greening, but to mobilize its substantial and high profile political and lobbying power, as well as its celebrity and huge reach, to create political action on climate change."

The organization POW, started in 2007 by snowboarder Jones. Bleiler and Schendler both sit on the board of directors. After having been turned away from areas that had once been rideable and seeing resorts closed due to lack of snow, Jones saw a gap between the winter sports community and the action to address the problem, according to the organization's website. POW's mission is to unite and actively engage the global snow sports community to lead the fight against climate change.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 10:45 AM | Permalink

Colorado resorts are preparing for the fast-approaching ski season. More than $100 million are being invested by Colorado's ski areas. From new lifts, to new cafes and new terrain park features, Colorado is hoping for another strong ski season.

Vail Resorts, with four Colorado ski areas, plans upward of $128 million in upgrades to its six hills, including a new high-speed chair in Beaver Creek's Rose Bowl, a new eatery on Vail Mountain and $30 million in work at its newest resort, California's Northstar-at-Tahoe. Colorado's other 22 ski areas are investing more than $50 million into upgrades, with a new chair and terrain at Aspen's Buttermilk and new lifts at Copper Mountain, Loveland, Monarch and Ski Cooper.

SolVista's has enhanced its terrain park with a natural log park and trick-friendly features. Winter Park's now dug-in halfpipe will energize its Rail Yard Terrain Park and require less manmade snow (i.e., water and energy) during installation. Durango Mountain Resort and Crested Butte Mountain Resort are adding ski-up zip lines, while Monarch adds a new Sno-Cat for its backcountry powder chasers and Wolf Creek replaces its race hut. Loveland is giving its Ptarmigan Roost Cabin a face-lift and installing its first on-hill restrooms. Copper Mountain's new partnership with the U.S. Ski Team means an improved snowmaking system will help American racers train in the early season. Loveland, Steamboat and Eldora Mountain Resort also are enhancing their snowmaking operations.

Aspen Skiing Co. is constructing its fifth super- green building with its 300-seat Elk Camp restaurant, scheduled to open for the 2012-13 season. The company is also renovating Aspen Highlands' midmountain Merry- Go-Round restaurant.

Crested Butte is revamping its midhill Paradise Warming House, and Steamboat is building a new apres- ski bar at the slopeside Steamboat Grand hotel.

Posted by Linda Chalat at 1:56 PM | Permalink