Jackson Hole opens with new Ski Helmet Rules
When Jackson Hole Mountain Resort opened Saturday, certain employees are be required to wear ski helmets for the first time.
Resort officials on Wednesday announced a new helmet policy reached after negotiations with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which issued a citation after ski patroller Kathryn Miller died in March in a fall while on duty in the backcountry near the resort.
The new policy requires resort employees to wear helmets, provided by the resort, only while working and only in terrain parks, in the halfpipe and in the backcountry. It goes into effect Saturday, opening day.
“Our employees are by far our most valuable asset,” resort President Jerry Blann said in a release, “and therefore we are committed to creating and maintaining a safe work environment for them. We recognize that helmets can play a part in keeping our employees safer, and as such we are taking this initial step.”
Jackson Hole is believed to be one of the first major U.S. ski areas to require any employees to wear helmets. Vail Resorts this year is requiring all employees at its ski areas in Colorado to wear them.
Jackson Hole’s policy for the most part will affect backcountry guides, patrollers who leave the resort boundary and instructors who teach in the terrain parks and halfpipe, resort spokesman Zahan Billimoria said Wednesday. Employees got to choose a helmet from several models and colors, he said.
In addition, a leadership team consisting of top-level managers and others will voluntarily wear helmets all the time while on the clock, Billimoria said.
Billimoria said employees seemed supportive of the new policy.
“I’m sort of proud of the resort for providing helmets for employees,” Billimoria said. “And I think people are happy to come out and be a little safer.”
Resort officials and OSHA had been involved in a series of conferences since the resort appealed OSHA’s citation and fine following Miller’s death. Miller was not wearing a helmet and died as a result of her injuries from the fall in Spacewalk Couloir.
The helmet policy was the result of the conferences. It includes a goal of increased helmet usage by employees throughout the coming years, according to a news release. Education on helmet use also will become an integral part of staff training, chief administrative officer Scott Horn said.
Billimoria said the negotiations have concluded. He said he did not know whether any other agreements were reached between the resort and OSHA.
Source: http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/article.php?art_id=5337
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