As Reported by the Senate Judiciary--Civil Justice Committee

126th General Assembly Regular Session 2005-2006

Sub. S. B. No. 61

Senator Wachtmann 

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A BILL

To amend sections 4169.01, 4169.03, 4169.08, and

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4169.09 of the Revised Code to modify duties and

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liabilities of ski operators and skiers, including

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duties and liabilities relating to the use of

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freestyle terrain and tubing parks in ski areas.

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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1.  That sections 4169.01, 4169.03, 4169.08, and	6
4169.09 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:	7

Sec. 4169.01.  As used in this chapter:

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(A) "Skier" means any person who is using or wearing skis or	9
any other device or any person who for the purpose of skiing is on	10
a ski slope or ski trail that is located atthe facilities of a	11
ski area, including, but not limited to, the ski slopes and ski	12
trails, for the purpose of skiing, which includes, without	13
limitation, sliding or jumping on snow or ice on skis, a	14
snowboard, sled, tube, snowbike, toboggan or any other device.	15

(B) "Passenger" means any person who is being transported or	16
conveyed by a passenger tramway.	17

(C) "Ski slopes" or "ski trails" means those sites that are	18
reserved or maintained and are open for use, as designated by a	19
ski area operator.	20

(D) "Ski area" means all the ski slopes, ski trails, and	21
passenger tramways that are administered or operated as a single	22
enterprise within this state.	23

(E) "Ski area operator" means a person or organization that	24
is responsible for the operation of a ski area, including an	25
agency of this state or of a political subdivision thereof.	26

(F) "Passenger tramway" means a device used to transport	27
passengers uphill, whether on skis or other devices or without	28
skis or other devices, or in cars on tracks or suspended in the	29
air, by the use of steel cables, chains, or belts or by ropes, and	30
that is usually supported by trestles or towers with one or more	31
spans. "Passenger tramway" includes all of the following:	32

(1) Aerial passenger tramway, a device used to transport	33
passengers in several open or enclosed cars attached to and	34
suspended from a moving wire rope or attached to a moving wire	35
rope and supported on a standing wire rope, or similar devices;	36

(2) Skimobile, a device in which a passenger car running on	37
steel or wooden tracks is attached to and pulled by a steel cable,	38
or similar devices;	39

(3) Chair lift, a device on which passengers are carried on	40
chairs suspended in the air and attached to a moving cable, chain,	41
or link belt supported by trestles or towers with one or more	42
spans, or similar devices. Chair lifts need not include foot-rests	43
or passenger restraint devices.	44

(4) J bar, T bar, or platter pull, devices that pull skiers	45
riding on skis or other devices by means of an attachment to a	46
main overhead cable supported by trestles or towers with one or	47
more spans, or similar devices;	48

(5) Rope tow, a device with one span and no intermediate	49
towers that pulls skiers riding on skis or other devices as they	50
grasp a rope manually, or similar devices;	51

(6) Wire rope tow, a device with one span and no intermediate	52
towers by which skiers are pulled on skis or other devices while	53
manually grasping a bar attached to a wire hauling cable;	54

(7) Conveyor, a flexible moving element, including a belt,	55
that transports passengers on one path and returns underneath the	56
uphill portion.	57

The operation of a passenger tramway shall not constitute the	58
operation of a common carrier.	59

(G) "Competitor" means a skier actually engaged in	60
competition, a special event, or training or practicing for	61
competition or a special event in any portion of the area made	62
available by the ski area operator.	63

(H) "Freestyler" means a skier utilizing freestyle terrain	64
marked with signage approved by the national ski areas	65
association.	66

(I) "Freestyle terrain" means, but is not limited to, terrain	67
parks and terrain park features, such as jumps, rails, fun boxes,	68
other constructed or natural features, half-pipes, quarter-pipes,	69
and freestyle-bump terrain.	70

(J) "Tubing park" means a ski slope designated and maintained	71
for the exclusive use of skiers utilizing tubes to slide to the	72
bottom of the course and serviced by a dedicated passenger	73
tramway.	74

Sec. 4169.03.  (A) Before a passenger tramway operator may	75
operate any passenger tramway in the state, the operator shall	76
apply to the ski tramway board, on forms prepared by it, for	77
registration by the board. The application shall contain an	78
inventory of the passenger tramways that the applicant intends to	79
operate and such other information as the board may reasonably	80
require and shall be accompanied by the following annual fees:	81

(1) Each aerial passenger tramway, five hundred dollars;

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(2) Each skimobile, two hundred dollars;

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(3) Each chair lift, two hundred dollars;

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(4) Each J bar, T bar, or platter pull, one hundred dollars;

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(5) Each rope tow, fifty dollars;

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(6) Each wire rope tow, seventy-five dollars;

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(7) Each conveyor, one hundred dollars.

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When an operator operates an aerial passenger tramway, a	89
skimobile, or a chair lift during both a winter and summer season,	90
the annual fee shall be one and one-half the above amount for the	91
respective passenger tramway.	92

(B) Upon payment of the appropriate annual fees in accordance	93
with division (A) of this section, the board shall issue a	94
registration certificate to the operator. Each certificate shall	95
remain in force until the thirtieth day of September next ensuing.	96
The board shall renew an operator's certificate in accordance with	97
the standard renewal procedure in Chapter 4745. of the Revised	98
Code upon payment of the appropriate annual fees.	99

(C) Money received from the registration fees and from the	100
fines collected pursuant to section 4169.99 of the Revised Code	101
shall be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the	102
industrial compliance operating fund created in section 121.084 of	103
the Revised Code.	104

(D) No person shall operate a passenger tramway in this state	105
unless the person has been registered by the board.	106

Sec. 4169.08.  (A)(1) The general assembly recognizes that	107
skiing as a recreational sport is hazardous to skiers regardless	108
of all feasible safety measures that can be taken. It further	109
recognizes that a skier expressly assumes the risk of and legal	110
responsibility for any losses or damagesinjury, death, or loss to	111
person or property that resultresults from the inherent risks of	112
skiing, which include, but are not limited to, losses or damages	113
injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by variations	114
in terrainchanging weather conditions; surface or subsurface snow	115
or ice conditions; hard pack, powder, packed powder, wind pack,	116
corn, crust, slush, cut-up snow, and machine-made snow; bare	117
spots, rocks, trees, stumps, and other forms of forest growth or	118
debris; lift towers or other forms of towers and their components,	119
either above or below the snow surface; variations in steepness or	120
terrain, whether natural or as the result of snowmaking, slope	121
design, freestyle terrain, jumps, catwalks, or other terrain	122
modifications; any other objects and structures, including, but	123
not limited to, passenger tramways and related structures and	124
equipment, competition equipment, utility poles, fences, posts,	125
ski equipment, slalom poles, ropes, out-of-bounds barriers and	126
their supports, signs, ski racks, walls, buildings, and sheds; and	127
plainly marked or otherwise visible snowmaking and snow-grooming	128
equipment, snowmobiles, snow cats, and over-snow vehicles.	129

(2) Provided that the ski operator complies with division	130
(B)(4) of this section, no liability shall attach to a ski area	131
operator for injury, death, or loss to person or property suffered	132
by any competitor or freestyler using a freestyle terrain, which	133
injury, death, or loss to person or property is caused by course,	134
venue, or area conditions that visual inspection should have	135
revealed or by collision with a spectator, competition official,	136
ski area personnel, or another competitor or freestyler.	137

(3) Provided the ski operator complies with division (B)(5)	138
of this section, no liability shall attach to a ski area operator	139
for injury, death, or loss to person or property suffered by any	140
skier using a tubing park, which injury, death, or loss to person	141
or property is caused by course design or maintenance or	142
conditions that visual inspection should have revealed or by	143
collision with another skier.	144

(B) Therefore, theThe legal responsibilities of a ski area	145
operator to a skier with respect to any injury or, death, or loss	146
to person or property resulting in any way from an inherent risk	147
of the sport shall not be those of the common law duty of premises	148
owners to business invitees. A ski area operator shall have,	149
however, the following responsibilities:	150

(1) To mark all trail maintenance vehicles and to furnish	151
such vehicles with flashing or rotating lights that shall be in	152
operation whenever the vehicles are working or are moving in the	153
ski area;	154

(2) To mark with a visible sign or other warning implement	155
the location of any hydrant or similar equipment that is used in	156
snowmaking operations and located anywhere in the ski area;	157

(3) To mark, at the base of a slope or hill where skiers	158
embark on a passenger tramway serving the slope or hill or at the	159
top of a trail or slope, such slopes, trails, and hills with signs	160
indicating their relative degree of difficulty. The signs must be	161
the type that have been approved by the national ski areas	162
association and are in current use by the industry;	163

(4) Prior to the use of any portion of a freestyle terrain	164
area made available by the ski area operator, to allow each	165
freestyle skier or competitor an opportunity to reasonably inspect	166
the course, venue, or area of the freestyle terrain;	167

(5) To allow skiers using a tubing park visible access to the	168
course.	169

(C) A skier shall have the following responsibilities:

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(1) To know the range of the skier's ability to negotiate any	171
slope or trail or to use any passenger tramway that is associated	172
with a slope or trail, to ski within the limits of the skier's	173
ability, to ski only on designated slopes and trails, to maintain	174
control of speed and course at all times while skiing, to heed all	175
posted warnings, and to not cross the track of a passenger tramway	176
except at a designated area;	177

(2) To refrain from acting in a manner that may cause or	178
contribute to the injury of another person, to refrain from	179
causing collision with any person or object while skiing, and to	180
not place any object in a ski area that may cause another skier or	181
a passenger to fall;	182

(3) When involved in a skiing accident in which another	183
person is involved who needs medical or other assistance, to	184
obtain assistance for the person, to notify the proper	185
authorities, and to not depart from the scene of the accident	186
without leaving personal identification;	187

(4) If the skier is a competitor, freestyler, or user of	188
freestyle terrain, to assume the risk of all course, venue, or	189
area conditions, including, but not limited to, weather and snow	190
conditions; obstacles; course or feature location, construction,	191
or layout; freestyle terrain configuration and conditions; and	192
other courses, layouts, or configurations of the area to be used;	193

(5) If the skier is utilizing a tubing park, to assume the	194
risk of collision with others on the course.	195

Sec. 4169.09.  A ski area operator, a tramway passenger,	196
freestyler, competitor, or a skier is liable for losses or damages	197
injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by histhe	198
operator's, passenger's, freestyler's, competitor's, or skier's	199
failure to fulfill any of the responsibilities required by this	200
chapter. A ski area operator, a tramway passenger, freestyler,	201
competitor, or a skier is not liable for any losses or damages	202
injury, death, or loss to person or property caused by another's	203
failure to fulfill any of the responsibilities required of another	204
by this chapter. A ski area operator, a tramway passenger,	205
freestyler, competitor, or a skier is not entitled to recover for	206
any losses or damagesinjury, death, or loss to person or property	207
caused by histhe operator's, passenger's, freestyler's,	208
competitor's, or skier's failure to fulfill any of the	209
responsibilities required by this chapter.	210

Section 2. That existing sections 4169.01, 4169.03, 4169.08,	211
and 4169.09 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.	212