# Skiers perish in Utah avalanche: Who's At Fault? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200 "2005-01-17T15:38:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/21 "2005-01-18T02:36:19Z")
> [@olpeculiar](#): > > People who take part in “extreme” (christ do I hate that word) sports do so in the face of the danger. They embrace it. Let me be clear: You try to embrace danger while avoiding death. A dangerous game, to be sure, but that’s the whole point. No, it is absolutely not the point. Those who see it as such are dangerous. Apologies to all for the hijack, but there was a discussion on a similar topic in this thread… [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5591119#post5591119](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5591119#post5591119) …in which I attempt to explain why such activities should not be as risky as commonly percieved. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/22 "2005-01-18T03:23:28Z")
IMHO Out of bounds skiing despite clear warnings and a back-country gate? I would be very surprised if any liability was found against the ski area. Since the mid to late 90s, it has been getting more difficult to take a bite out of a ski area. For the most part, major ski areas have learned to keep a tight leash on their operations to avoid negligence, and the courts have pretty much established what is resort responsibility and what is skier responsibility. Perhaps a case could be made based on enticement, and in the 80s perhaps it would have succeeded, but these days I doubt it. There is inherent risk in skiing (just as with everything in life). As long as the ski area ensures that the risks are known, and not minimized, and does what it can to prevent easily mitigated risks, then I doubt if it could be found negligent. (IAASkiingL) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/23 "2005-01-18T03:24:02Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > However, something brought up in the video at **Fat Bald Guy’s** link troubles me. The TV news people claim the resort advertises “access to the back country” as one of its amenities and marks the access point, which is near the top of a lift, on its trail maps, although they are or should be aware that much of the terrain near the edges of the resort is avalanche-prone. If this is true - and I know that local TV news programs are not without bias - then I’d agree that the resort needs to, ahem, rethink this policy. No sense _encouraging_ stupidity. The universe produces enough stupidity on its own. Rethink which policy? The one of placing large warnings? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/24 "2005-01-18T05:44:07Z")
Having sat in a truck and watched impatient motorists slalom through the crossarms of a railroad crossing, been bitched at for taking so long to rescue people trapped in their vehicle after driving past barricades into flooded roadways, and searching mildly frozen lakes for the bodies of skaters who ignored postings, I’ve concluded that a certain portion of the population is dumber than a pile of rocks. Sorry to sound harsh, but it’s the plain truth. ---
**Author:** ![LuckySevens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@LuckySevens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LuckySevens)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/25 "2005-01-18T06:32:03Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Shouldn’t the resort be held liable? Perhaps they did not inform the skiers of the dangers …at the very least, they should have ! If the skiers were juveniles, would the resort be held liable? inor isn’t capable of making a reasoned judgement. > If I were the rental shop (that rented skis, snowboards, etc.) i would be worried…would their insurance cover them? 😕 You’re right, it is the resorts fault. The whole thing could have been prevented if the resort barred people from skiing at it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/26 "2005-01-18T06:55:26Z")
> [@LuckySevens](#): > > You’re right, it is the resorts fault. > > The whole thing could have been prevented if the resort barred people from skiing at it. And indeed more relevantly if they had forbidden people from skiing nearby it. In fact, they should have done the right thing and closed down altogether because the whole fact of even existing was a wanton encouragement to people to ski dangerously. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200/27 "2005-01-18T09:46:57Z")
This would make a good Great Debates topic, actually: not specifically the current example, but the idea of liability in general for that kind of outdoor activity. As a resident of Washington State living 75 miles from Mount Rainier, I hear often of climbers who die through overexposure, misadventure, ill-preparedness, or simply from the whims of nature on the mountain. Yes, it is a National Park, but precisely how much liability does the park system bear on protecting adventurers from themselves? When the National Guard helicopters are sent out for a dangerous mountainside rescue, who should pay the exorbitant costs? (It seems the climbers think this is completely covered by the $10.00 they paid to get into the park grounds.) Interesting. I may have to start a thread on this during the coming summer when the first fatalities are inevitably announced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skiers-perish-in-utah-avalanche-whos-at-fault/285200.md?page=1)