The model legislation program
One of the basic approaches being taken by NSAA in its pursuit of legislative relief for ski areas from the mounting cost of insurance is the drafting of model legislation designed to be the framework for state legislation. (See also the editorial on the subject in Speak-Out.) The American Home Assurance Co., underwriters of the NSAA Insurance Plan, is working on this, and their draft is scheduled to be presented at the NSAA Convention in May. The overall purpose is to get some law on the books which would define some of the responsibilities of the skiers themselves.
NSAA sought practical suggestions from the ski area industry, and a number of long, thoughtful responses were received. Darcy Brown of Aspen responded, as did Dick Kohnstamm of Timberline, Oregon, Stan Judge of New Hampshire’s Wildcat, Governor Sherman Adams of Loon Mt., Dennis McCoy of Mammoth in California, Pres. Smith of Killington, Jim Bauer of Wisconsin’s Telemark and others.
The broad areas of concern reflected in these letters were: 1) skiers skiing out of control; 2) skiers abusing the lift ride by swinging chairs, skiing out of the tracks and getting off at unauthorized places; and 3) skiers selecting trails beyond their capabilities.
Several harked back to the old “Skiers’ Coutesy Code” or “Rules of the Road” put together by NSAA in 1966 and adopted by all ski organizations, including the Ski Patrol. Many felt that if these could be put in statutory form it would help.
Rules of the Road
- All skiers shall ski under control. Control shall mean in such a manner that a skier can avoid other skiers or objects.
- When skiing downhill and overtaking another skier, the overtaking skier shall avoid the skier below him.
- Skiers approaching each other on opposite traverses pass to the right.
- Skiers shall not stop in a location which will obstruct a trail or impede the normal passage of other skiers, and shall not stop at a point where they are not visible from above.
- A skier entering a trail or slope from a side or intersecting trail shall first check for approaching downhill skiers.
- A standing skier shall check for approaching downhill skiers before starting.
- When walking or climbing in a ski area, skis should be worn, and the climber or walker shall keep to the side of the trail or slope.
- All skiers using releasable bindings shall wear safety straps or other devices to prevent runaway skis.
- (Not a part of the original “official” list, but often included in this or similar form). Skiers shall keep off closed trails and posted areas and shall observe all traffic signs and other regulations as prescribed by the ski area.
Other points emphasized included: 1) the need for a reduced statute of limitations; 2) the need for a 90-day notification clause that would require any plaintiff to notify the defendant of his intention to file suit within 90 days of the accident; 3) realistically, in order to get this sort of legislation through a state legislature, any items concerning the duties of skiers would have to be offset by some specific duties of the operator.
Progress toward such state-by-state legislative relief will be slow, it was pointed out by many, but the goal was thought to be worthwhile pursuing.
More on our energy future
In the Winter issue we ran an editorial entitled “Our Energy Future.” We are still at it in this issue with a couple of features devoted to the subject.
April 20 is scheduled as the day when we get at least the broad outlines of President Carter’s energy policy, and knowledgeable observers are predicting a tough message, with a lot of emphasis on conservation. We may not have to wait for another Arab oil embargo before we feel the impact on our industry.
The betting now is that an attempt will be made to discourage gasoline consumption through a sharp increase in the per-gallon cost. Only if this proves ineffective, say these seers, will more stringent use regulation be imposed. Such a program probably will not impact too greatly on the ski market because even at a dollar or more per gallon, skiers will probably pay it. (As a function of the average skier’s annual expenditure in pursuit of the sport, such a gas price increase won’t exactly be onerous!) As for car-pooling, skiers have come 3.5 to the car for 25 years now, and they will continue to do for economy reasons what they have always done for social reasons.
In a real crunch, however, such as would be occasioned by another Arab embargo, there is little doubt but that a politically secure Carter would impose some sort of rationing. The probability is that, as a part of the whole tourist industry, we would be able to head off the “gasless Sunday” idea, but if there were rationing, the ski area industry would certainly feel it. In any case, I hope all areas will heed Cal Conniff’s advice in the NSAA Newletter that, “every ski area operator have his own ‘Emergency Plan’ on file just in case.”
Frankly, in this whole energy future, I am concerned most about the posture of the ski industry itself as an energy consumer. The energy used in one season by one ski area for its snowmaking alone would provide for the total energy needs of over 300 houses for a year.
This past winter many thousands of workers were laid off as a direct result of the cold weather in the midwest and east. Schools closed. Heating oil became critically short in supply.
In situations like this people get angry. They look for symbols of their misfortune, scapegoats for their troubles. Can you imagine the impact of a network ‘special’ on the energy crisis which showed the closed schools, the idle factories, the shivering housewives and the laid-off workers — and showed it all in juxtaposition to some shots of the idle rich skiing on snow which has been made by burning thousands of gallons of fuel? Devastating!
I lay it on thick to make the point, but the point is there. Our total industry is small, we are vulnerable, we are small employers, our political “clout” is found principally in states with but small clout of their own. Our snow drought problems, for instance, though big to us, cast small shadows compared to the mammoth drought-related problems of the farmers. And the latter impact on the public; ours affect only a few skiers.
All of which is not to say we should roll over and die. It is to say we should view our potential problems and plan for them with broad, pragmatic vision.
There are things we can do. An example: because of the huge demand charges being levied by many of the power companies, a number of areas are switching from electric to diesel power for their snowmaking comprsssors. Isn’t there something wrong with a national energy policy that would encourage compressor users to switch from relatively plentiful, relatively “clean” electric — some of it hydroelectric and nuclear — to the burning of fossil fuel?
You bet there is, and when I pointed this out to a Washington energy official he was surprised. The suggestion was made that the various state Public Service Boards or Commissions should be made to feel some pressure; that the PSB’s should be demanding greater flexibility from the power companies, more imagination, better utilization of power available from the grid. Remember, power companies have never put much priority on problem-solving; each is a mini-monopoly. But they are regulated, and they can be pushed and “persuaded.”
An example of this sort of creative planning is in the making at Ludlow, Vt., where the adjacent ski area, Okemo Mt., will be permitted to monitor the demand at the local power company and turn on the compressors whenever it goes below a certain point. These times will usually be at night, which is when snowmaking conditions will probably be best anyway. The net result for Okemo: electric power at low, off-peak KW-hour rates and zero demand charges; for the power company: profitable sale of power, good utilization of available power and no worry about over-demand by the ski area.
We end on a positive note. One Washington energy official — a skier — told us: “Look, I don’t think you should worry so much. Most U.S. industries don’t have any idea what’s going to hit them. They aren’t even thinking about it the way you guys seem to be, let alone making plans. You’re way ahead!”
Let’s hope we all remain that way.
