Lifts are an example of the industry’s quest to make skiing safe. Forty years ago, bullwheel loading and unloading had not been introduced and cable catchers and deropement switches were not widely used. Very few lifts used hydraulic systems and the counterweights hung from a wire rope that actually moved. And who had a DC drive on a lift?
Lift accidents were commonplace. Rollbacks occurred before the advent of mandated bullwheel rollback devices, which made brake application automatic in the event of reverse rotation. There were also a couple runaway lifts and chair-grip failures. Because lift accidents were a major expense and concern for everyone, meaningful codes were put into place. The current American National Standard Safety Requirements for Aerial Passenger Tramways, ANSI B77.1-1982 was developed to deal with problems that were emerging and address the safeguards that were required. The first standard was approved by ANSI in June 1960 and revisions were developed and approved in 1970, 1973. 1976 and 1982.
A typical ski lift today is a sophisticated four-, six- or even eight-passenger high-speed detachable. Electronics, computers and hydraulics are common place and where the ski lift of old could reasonably be maintained by people of limited mechanical ability, today formal training is required with particular emphasis on electronics.
For passengers, good news came with the advent of better loading and unloading areas. Gone are the double-black-diamond unload ramps. With detachable lifts that run at slower speeds coming into the unload areas—as well as better training of lift operators—the 30 to 35 percent in lift-related claims the industry experienced (mostly at the loading and unloading points) has dropped to 10 to 15 percent over the past couple of seasons.
Ski equipment technology also advanced considerably over the years. It started with skis made of wood with rough bases that needed constant waxing, bamboo poles that broke frequently, bear-trap bindings and lace-up leather boots. A safety strap was a length of leather tethered to the ski, which, in a fall, caused the ski to rotate in the wind like a propeller and slash at the skier’s legs. Today, technology has advanced to step-in bindings with ski brakes, hard-shelled boots and graphite poles. Skis have gone from wood to wood-core aluminum to fiberglass, from straight-edged and long to more shapely, easy to use and to turn. With the advances made in this technology coupled with skier education, the industry has seen a reduction in lower-leg breaks.
Forty years ago, trail signs, if they existed, simply named the trail and might state beginner, intermediate or advanced. Area operators assumed everybody knew that skiing was dangerous and felt that if they warned skiers of one hazard, they would have to warn them of every hazard. These attitudes began to change, especially after a 1978 jury decision. In Sunday vs. Stratton, a jury awarded James Sunday a $1.5 million judgment after he was rendered quadriplegic from becoming entangled in a small clump of brush three to four feet from the side of the trail. How could it be that a skier could reap a reward for encountering brush hidden under loose snow or a snow covered rock off a designated run? This is an example of how people place blame on others and don’t accept responsibility for their own actions. Something needed to be done. A number of states passed Skier Safety Acts, which defined the obligations of, not only the ski area, but of the skiers themselves. These acts helped some, but challenges have been made to defeat this defense. Some successful, some not. The judicial systems, at times, seem to favor compensating those catastrophic injuries irrespective of fault.
How about the changes in grooming? Forty years ago, grooming a trail was unheard of. There was no smooth-as-a-baby’s-butt terrain. You learned to ski in sketchy mogul fields and if you wanted groomed, you had to pack the slope with your instructor before you began the class. Today, groomers have the ability to create diversity, from nice cruising runs, to mogul fields, and on to halfpipes and terrain parks.
Couple that, however, with a trend in sports that involves pushing the envelope and there might be some trouble ahead. From extreme skiing/snowboarding to bicycling (BMX) to skateboarding, a few professionals make it look easy to the younger generation. With the advent of grooming and improved equipment, it is not uncommon to clock skiers at speeds of 40 to 50 m.p.h. As a result of high speeds and extremism in our sport that result in serious or catastrophic injury, we are on a collision course with litigation and the attendant costs.
Recently, new thrills such as terrain parks, halfpipes and tubing hills have been introduced to snowsports. As these new activities add a man-made element and involve changes in exposure to the resort, there is a greater need to manage and staff them appropriately. There could be challenges to the skier’s assumption of risk.
The high-profile deaths of Michael Kennedy and Sonny Bono did not help the public’s image of skiing. It did, however, seem to create a big interest in helmet use, despite the low incidence of head injuries in skiing and snowboarding (1.5 percent as compared to 30 percent in biking, according to Dr. Jasper Shealy).
Today we are doing a good job of skier education and inherent risk warnings, however, we need to do more. As a group, we have been more reactive than proactive. We have tended to let lawsuits dictate what we have to do. We must set guidelines and educate skiers as to why these guidelines and rules are important and enforce them. The biggest single challenge is how we do this.
We can use the media to get the message out by way of disclaimers made at televised sporting events, or increase ski school involvement by offering graduated lessons in learning to ride in and to interact with the elements of a terrain park. There’s no simple answer. But we should continue to educate and warn our customers.
Thanks to Carl Neu, Linda Tikalsky, Maynard Russell, Judy Murray and Wally Shank for their contributions to the article.
