Has “safety first” gone too far?

In the midst of a brutal start to the ski season last year, my friend Pete Partington extended an invitation to visit him in Alta, Utah in time for some New Year’s celebration.

Besides finding good snow and good company, we met Kristen Ulmer who used to star in Warren Miller movies in the mid-nineties and was a pioneer of extreme and big mountain skiing. As it turns out, there are many current and former ski heroes living in and around Park City.  

Big mountain skiing can be very dangerous – and even fatal when you push your boundaries too far or don’t take the necessary pre-cautions. Always check the snow for potential avalanche dangers, always evaluate your escape route or landing zone before hitting a table-top or leaping off a cornice. Having a spotter in the park is a good idea too.

It’s also important that your equipment is properly maintained (like having the right DIN settings on your bindings) and that you have the right gear – like a helmet…or even a snorkle when you have “choke” deep powder

North American resorts have always been known to take their own pre-cautions to ensure their patrons have a safe time…and to limit their insurance liabilities.  Unlike in most of Europe for example, Skiing out-of-bounds is usually taboo and can result in your ticket being pulled at the minimum or a hefty fine and even prosecution at the maximum.

Insurance companies dictate mountain policy

A few years ago some Ontario hills introduced a park policy mandating that skiers & riders watch a safety video and complete a safety quiz before being allowed access to the park. This was meant to reduce liability and increase safety. It also made a lot of sense for places like Blue Mountain whose reputation as a Zoo Mountain is well earned.

This season insurance companies have gone a step further – now they are dictating exactly when your chairlift safety bar must come down and go up. All over Ontario there are signs everywhere telling you when to put up your safety bar.

Having said that, I’ve also heard reports that insurance companies are simply forcing mountains to comply with existing regulations from the Ontario technical standards & safety authority after a record 14 accidents last season from people falling out of chair lifts in Ontario. Please comment on this post if you have additional insight into the origin of this new policy.

Failing to comply will first result in a stern warning and then followed by your ticket lift being revoked. I’ve been warned twice already – on two different hills.  

Has “safety first” gone too far in this case? Going back to my trip to Alta last season, none of the chair lifts even had safety bars! I remember clinging on to the side of the chair as it slowly creeked its way up the mountain.

I’m not advocating that we remove the safety bars in Ontario – but I don’t believe policing when we are allowed to raise the safety bar is the most impactful way to improve on-hill safety and enjoyment.

What’s next – photo radar to catch skiers and riders who are going too fast? Maybe regulating a minimum number of turn policy for each hill? It sounds ridiculous, but it may not be far off where the industry is going.

Going back to Alta is sounding better all the time.