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2017 SKI STATUTES BY STATE (NUMBERS INDICATE OPERATING SKI AREAS IN STATE)

this is a key statutory provision in Wyoming’s new law, areas There are also other obligations ski areas must com-
in the state would be well served to maximize the opportu- ply with for their operations under the new legislation,
nity to educate, warn, and inform guests of a wide variety of including marking or identifying ski area boundaries,
safety issues at their areas—including safety related to lifts, posting warning signs, operating vehicles with lights and
terrain parks, reckless and speed skiing, collisions, slips and flags, and posting signage or closing a trail with fences
falls, closures, and avalanches. or rope if a trail is closed to the public. Notably, the trial
In addition, the Wyoming Ski Safety Act provides lawyers opposing the Wyoming law were successful by
ski areas protections from tubing injuries, because the law imposing a duty on ski area operators to mark, flag, and
defines “skiing” as “includ[ing] sliding downhill on skis or pad structures that are not ordinarily visible within 100
a toboggan, sled, tube, [or] other device.” And the new law feet under ordinary visibility (a similar provision is in the
states that skiers “shall be presumed to have seen and under- Colorado statute).
stood all signs, warnings, and other information posted.” Lobbyists for trial attorneys attempted several tactics to
Ideally, this will diminish the threat of claims from plain- weaken the legislation, including sneaking a provision into an
tiffs’ attorneys that a ski area failed to warn skiers about cer-
tain risks or hazards of the sport.
The new legislation also requires Wyoming ski areas to WYOMING BECOMES THE LATEST STATE TO
adhere to the most current version of the ANSI B-77 standards HAVE SPECIFIC LEGISLATION PROVIDING
for the operation, inspection, and maintenance of aerial tram-
ways and chairlifts. Helpfully, the law specifically states that CERTAIN PROTECTIONS FOR SKI AREAS FROM
chairlifts “shall not be deemed a common carrier,” which will THE INHERENT RISKS OF THE SPORT
somewhat limit—but won’t eliminate—some of plaintiffs’ law-
yers arguments about claims arising from chairlift incidents.

SUMMER 2017 | NSAA JOURNAL | 7