A new update signed in North Carolina significantly changes the state’s ski resort laws, including making it a misdemeanor to leave the scene of a skier-on-skier collision without providing contact information or to misuse a ski pass.
The legislation was signed into law by Governor Josh Stein on July 7 and goes into effect on October 1.
The North Carolina Ski Areas Association called the tweaks to the Winter Sports Safety Act, which was last updated in 2009, “needed.”
“These improvements modernize the law related to skiing and snowboarding, keep pace with changes in technology, and ensure that our industry remains viable,” said the Association’s president, Kimberley Jochl, in a news release.
Per the law, if a skier “knows or should reasonably know that they were involved in a collision with another skier,” they need to give their information to a ski area employee, a ski patroller, or the person they collided with.
The law, however, does make exceptions for seeking medical treatment or cases where staying in the area would be dangerous. Still, a skier will need to provide their information “as soon as practical.” Violations amount to a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The same is true of another section that details kinds of ski pass misuse, like relying on a “stolen, fictitious, or borrowed ski pass” to visit a ski area, accessing closed terrain, and giving someone a stolen ski pass.
Beyond the criminal penalty, the law notes that ski areas can sue people who break ski pass rules to recover “an amount equal to the regular cost of a full season pass.”
The law also covers protections for ski resorts, which, if they meet a list of duties and responsibilities, like marking hazards and inspecting trails, aren’t generally liable for injuries or property damage people sustain while voluntarily participating in skiing.
That detailed list of duties also includes everything from providing snow condition updates to adding ski trail difficulty signs.
While it may come as a surprise to some, North Carolina is home to a small but active ski community. The state has six resorts: Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain Resort, Cataloochee Ski Area, Hatley Pointe, Sapphire Valley Ski Area, and Sugar Mountain Resort.
Jochl called the ski industry “a vital part of the Western North Carolina economy,” adding that the North Carolina Ski Areas Association is “grateful for the support of the General Assembly and the Governor in recognizing our industry’s commitment to recreation, health and wellness, and a great North Carolina experience.”
Other mountain states like Utah and Colorado have their own, similar set of ski safety laws that detail skier and ski resort responsibilities.
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