Looking at Parry's Peak from Mary Jane @WinterPark | Photo Credit:
Parry's Peak
Looking at Parry’s Peak from Mary Jane @WinterPark | Photo Credit: DebateLord | Cover Photo: eGuide Travel

Back in 2012, Christopher Norris skied into the Trestle Trees area of Winter Park Resort one last time. While traversing across a low angle slope, Norris triggered a fateful avalanche that would ultimately take his life. The area in question was open to the public at the time of the accident.

Related: Are Inbounds Avalanches An Inherent Risk While Skiing?

And while the incident was immensely tragic, the accident has since spurred a national debate as to whether or not avalanches are an inherent risk in skiing or if they are the responsibility of the ski areas in which they occur.

“No skier may make any claim against or recover from any ski area operator for injury resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing.”Ski Safety Act

According to the Denver Post, the Colorado Supreme Court made their ruling public on Tuesday and in a 5-2 ruling, the court decided that avalanches are indeed an inherent risk in skiing. The court pointed to the Ski Safety Act, which states that some of the inherent risks in skiing include snow conditions, weather, and steepness of terrain. Turns out, the combination of weather, angle of terrain, and snow conditions create avalanche danger and as such, avalanches are an inherent risk in skiing.

“The phrase ‘snow conditions as they exist or may change’ encompasses avalanches that occur within the bounds of a ski resort. The statute also contemplates that the snow conditions ‘may change.’ One obvious way in which a snow condition ‘may change’ is through the movement of the snow, including by wind and gravity. And at its core, an avalanche is moving snow caused by gravity.”Colorado Supreme Court

Only 11 people have died in inbounds avalanches in the last 16 years.

Find the entire Denver Post article here: Avalanche is an inherent risk of skiing

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