Christopher Norris died at Winter Park this January in an avalanche and now his family has filed a wrongful death suit. The family has filed the suit based on the fact that Winter Park should have known the area was prone to avalanches. It occurred in the Trestle Trees vicinity. So is this one of the ‘inherent dangers and risks’ that is a part of the sport we love so much? With all due respect to the victim and his family, I believe it is and choose to wear my beacon in-bounds on high-hazard days. I certainly would not want my family to sue for an avalanche accident whether it is in bounds or in the backcountry. They accept that the sport is dangerous and so do I. This is the second lawsuit filed against a Colorado Resort this month and could change the future of skiing big terrain in-bounds. Details on the Aspen Hot Dog incident can be found HERE. Unfortunately, this is the society we live in today.
PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE:
Accident Area
Victim Buried Here
Hoar Crystals
Topo Map of Area
Accident Report Here
More on the lawsuit HERE
tough to pick sides on this one.
I agree it is a sensitive issue, Tina and want to respect the victim and his family. The reason I chose the anti-lawsuit side is based on the terrain that slid and my prior employment in the industry. These lawsuits make it very difficult to sustain ski area operations.
Not really that hard. If precident is given in a case like this for the families of the victims, skiing as we know it in the US WILL change forever. There is inherent risk that we must all accept to recreate as we do in the mountains. Play it safe when it gets sketchy and don’t believe for a second that just because you are at a resort something like this can’t happen.
You really think so? If the courts rule in favor of the victims family, there may not be many ski areas to ski anymore. Who would opperate when they would just be setting themselves up for lawsuits? There are risks that can’t be managed or mitigated by the resort no matter how much they may try. This is the inherent risk of the sport that we all must accept. Sorry this guy died, but if he loved recreating in the mountains I doubt even he would want his family to persue this case.
I don’t think that the resorts would shut down, rather they would just lawyer up and write a new bunch of policies stating that they aren’t responsible for stuff like this. It is a tragedy, and I’m just saying what I think will happen not what should happen.
This does not look like an area a resort would typically control, just an isolated pocket int he trees where it slid to the rock. Why the suit?
Cause Colorado is full of sue-happy yuppies
You are right. WE (locals) usually ski cut these trees alongside patrol when the base for the resort gets to about 60″. This did not happen for quite some time (if at all) this season. This is not an area where Ski Patrol can blast as the trees are very dense. At the top of the run, there is a sign for Topher’s Trees. On the tree where Topher died, his skis are nailed in an “X” and at the bottom there is a plaque in his honor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elu9EpukR5w
lawsuits like this destroy industries like skiing. i would be happy to have to sign a 50 page contract before buying a lift ticket if it meant that people could no longer act surprised when an accident occurs while theyre attempting to control a high speed descent down a mountain by sliding on sticks
im not trying to be disrespectful to the victim or their family. but i do think theyre indicative of a culture where its almost unfathomable to accept responsibilities for the consequences of your own actions.
if i put some plastic signage on a rugged mountain, buy some expensive snow cats and stick dynamite in high probability avalanche starting zones every morning, do you REALLY think ive attained the power of god, able to remove the danger from one of the more potentially suicidal activities a human being could participate in? you pay me to come on my land and spend your day doing something where death is never more than a couple mistakes away, and then you get mad when i didnt completely incapacitate nature so that you could be invincible?
Life is inherently dangerous, thats all there is to it. Whether you ski, surf or sit on the couch all day, one way or another you are going to die one day. I used to be a lifeguard at a water park and it was almost as if people felt like because they paid some entry fee, their life should automatically be secure. Now years later living in a resort town I see the same mentality all the time.. oh well its a controlled environment, therefore nothing bad will happen.
In the complaint that was filed they are trying to say that avalanches in ski areas aren’t an “inherent risk” and that operations “should have known” well they obviously didn’t.
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20120523/NEWS/120529932/1001&parentprofile=1062
The family is saying that they should be safe in an inbounds area.
http://kdvr.com/2012/05/23/family-sues-intrawest-for-winter-park-avalanche-death/
In addition to this, he apparently was the bread winner in his family
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8519618
I really do feel for his wife and kids they are obviously suffering a tremendous loss, emotionally and financially…but many people lose people they love and are dependant on. This doesn’t mean that they go out looking for closure in the courtroom.
To say that avalanches are not an inherent risk in a ski resort is pretty insane to me. I suppose the resorts on beaches should pay out if someone gets swept away by a rip tide? If you’re under the impression that avalanches, extreme weather, unpredictable terrain changes and in general- massive trauma- are not all inherent risks of skiing ANYWHERE then you shouldn’t be skiing
Wasnt he found in a closed (not yet controlled to open) part of the ski resort?
Yes, the two entrances to Trestle Trees aka Topher’s Tree’s and also the Mushroom Patch had ropes up. The only way to access was to enter above the ropes, traverse in and hike up or to enter below the ropes and cut off 1/2 the run(which he did.) To enter below the ropes, he would have had to go straight passed the roped area and traverse well into where he was found.
At some point us Americans have to learn to take responsibility for our own actions.
What you must understand is that many people chose to ski inbounds because it is supposed the be a ‘safer’ environment and one where they don’t have to worry about all the risks associated with the backcountry. We often criticize people on this very site for putting themselves into dangerous situations in the backcountry due to a lack of knowledge. Maybe this gentleman knew he didn’t have the knowledge or familiarity with the terrain or even the necessary gear to go into the backcountry and he made a conscious decision to ski the resort until he did. He made that decision because the resort is supposed to be a safer (althought not completely safe) and more controlled (again, not perfectly controlled) environment. I agree that a lawsuit may not be the way to go on this. He’s not my family member and I don’t have all the details, so I can make a judgement call on that like many of you have. However, maybe there is something more we can do to safeguard those individuals that are looking for a fun day at the resort. People ski the resort because they don’t have the knowledge for the backcountry. With all the press about how dangerous the backcountry is, we as skiers and the resorts themselves do very little to highlight the dangers that lie within the ropes. Maybe we need to do more?
Yes, I think the root issue here is that the average person underestimates the inherent risk present IN a ski resort and places too much blind faith in the company they’re paying.
If I paid some guys to take me shark diving and a shark bit me, I wouldnt say “how could you let that happen?”. A 7 year old child could have foreseen that outcome. I don’t think the analogy is off base. Resort skiiers are generally ignorant about avalanches, and it’s not the ski resorts fault that’s true. They can up the ante on the legal disclaimers, but people will not read them.
I always like JH’s famous warning sign, the one that essentially says “IF YOU SCREW UP ON THIS MOUNTAIN YOU CAN DIE”. But people generally see it as a cool badass sign they take a picture with, they dont think “wait….. Am I smart enough to not get myself killed here? What does it take to stay alive here”
If you ride a metal box to 11,000ft, then haul ass down that mountain while balancing on a piece of wood or 2, you should realize death is quite possible. I don’t care who owns the mountain or what safety measures they’ve taken. If you go sky diving, hitting the ground is a very possible outcome, and you shouldn’t assume someone else will prevent it. We need to take responsibility for our actions
I am a local and a long time rider of Winter Park/Mary Jane. Trestle tree’s or “Tophers trees” was named after Christopher Sendroy passed away in them by getting tree welled then covered by a slide. That being said, I can attest to the conditions.
1. With both formal entrances to get into the trees being roped off, the only possible way to enter was to drop in lower or have one heck of a traverse and a hike in, either way you would have known they were closed.
2. Three weeks later, I was buried by a minor slough slide when I was pinned under a piece of deadfall. These trees were in no shape for riding pretty much all season long, let alone when he went in.
3. When the gentleman was found, he was using a base model rental board from a local shop. I had spoken with the manager of the shop and when filling out the rental form he marked Type II rider (novice/intermediate), the average slope in the trees where people want to be (and where he was found), is about 40 degrees with trees, cliffs, chutes and some stompable 5-30′ airs. His ability level was no where near where it should have been to be in the trees.
4. Upon purchasing a ticket and on all of the lifts that have tree runs, Winter Park posts signs that state never ski the trees alone. This is for a very good reason.
5. and finally, on every lift ticket and season pass waiver, it states that skier assumes all responsibility and that skiing/snowboarding is an inherently dangerous sport where the risk for injury and/or death possible.
While I do feel for the his family, I truly believe that if this man had followed the rules of the mountains and that if he had stayed within his ability level, he would never have been in those trees and would be alive today.
Sad to have this loss of life but fuck his family for even considering this course of action. This sue happy fucking bullshit is a real problem and people like this should be sent to jail for thinking this is a proper use of our legal system.
Fuck you sue happy ass holes.
Can I add that I slammed into a tree at a resort at the age of 12 almost killing myself. After a week in the ICU and another in intensive care I walked out of the hospital with 7 broken bones and a streached nerve that still effects me. My parents never thought of suing the resort
Don’t blame others for your choices. Only you control your actions. The resort did not make you get on the chair, head down the hill and end up how you are.
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