We all hope that other states will use New Jersey as an example and start to use logic and safety, vs emotion or pressure from the ski area operators, to make good leadership decisions. Remember when seat belts in cars were optional? Remember when skiis didn’t have safety straps or self activating brakes? Hopefully we will be asking the same thing about Ski Helmets a decade from now.

The New Jersey law will go into effect for the 2011-2012 season and will require a properly fitted helmet for anyone under the age of 18 on any New Jersey ski slopes.

Congrats New Jersey. Be proud. You’ve got our attention. Hopefully the rest of the country will follow suit.

Matt Sampson | Director | SkiHelmets.org

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Scott Richard Goodale was snowboarding with four friends when the incident occurred, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. Eldora Mountain Ski Patrol responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. local time Sunday afternoon and began CPR efforts that continued to the ski resort’s patrol room, where he was pronounced dead.

The Boulder Coroner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

SOURCE: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/News/2011/2/7/Snowboarder-Dies-After-Hitting-Tree-at-Eldora/

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‘All we can do is encourage them to wear them. We can’t put them on their heads.’— Allan Matters, Brookvale Ski Park

A few years ago P.E.I. made it law that cyclists must wear helmets, but there are no plans to force them on skiers or snowboarders at the provincial park. Instead officials are focusing on education.

Allan Matters, superintendent of operations, told CBC News a program where free passes are randomly handed out to people who do wear helmets is continuing this season. New this year is including a helmet with every ski rental package.

“We have it in all our packages this year,” said Matters.

“All we can do is encourage them to wear them. We can’t put them on their heads.”

The park is also putting up posters from the Brain Injury Coalition of P.E.I.

“Some of them say ‘Precious life, protect it, wear a helmet,’” said coalition president Kenneth Murnaghan.

“Another one is, ‘It’s a beautiful day, don’t spoil it. Wear a helmet.’”

Murnaghan was 10 years old when he went headfirst over the handle bars of his bike after hitting a manhole cover. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, and he’s now partially paralyzed.

Murnaghan convincing people to wear a helmet requires repeating the message again and again.

“You need to keep drilling it,” he said.

“I care what happens to fellow Islanders. I don’t want somebody to have to go through what I have to go through.”

While the coalition supports the education campaign, Murnaghan would like to see a mandatory helmet law at Brookvale.

Matters said the education campaign seems to be working. Between 75 and 80 per cent of visitors are now strapping on a helmet before taking to the hills.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2011/01/17/pei-ski-helmet-brookvale-584.html

Seriously, ski areas are concerned with safety every day of the year. Skiers should have at least one week each winter when the topic of safety is in your face. It’s now; Jan. 15-23 is The National Ski Area Association sponsored “safety awareness week.”

Each year the NSAA slides out a new spin, catchy phrase or grabby logo promoting safety on the slopes. Lids on Kids, Heads Up, and “Objects are closer than they appear” are all cutesy campaigns to encourage skiers to slow down, think about their actions, and be prepared for risk and dangers that exist on the slopes.

NSAA’s latest is a “Tree Wells Steer Clear” graphic which is far more engaging than the “Non-Avalanche Related Snow Immersion Death Warning” that means simply you could sink into deep unpacked snow around tree bases.

All this week, look for the Skiers’ Responsibility Code on napkins, signs and posters at resorts. If you “Know the Code”and “Smart Style It” (and you should), you could win prizes from contests and quizzes on the slopes, so go to NSAA for a quick review.

Here are a few fun ski safety programs going on in New England:

Killington will be giving a free lift ticket to anyone purchasing a helmet at the resort Jan. 15-21.
Sugarloaf will offer ski runs with Ski Patrol so you can learn about mountain safety straight from the experts. Sugarloaf ambassadors will host their second annual funny “Safe or Sorry” game show on WSKI TV.

Okemo hosts a Scavenger Hunt Jan. 16 for families to find safety clues out on the slopes and win prizes.

Take Safety Week as an opportunity to teach your kids The Code, and reinforce smart skiing and riding. It can be fun, especially if you enter the “Helmet Head” contest at Okemo, then vote for the best bad hair shots on Facebook.

Photo by Greg Burke For more of Heather’s family ski tips go to www.familyskitrips.com

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As a member of the National Ski Areas Assoc., Okemo Mountain Resort will recognize National Safety Awareness Week, Jan. 15-23, 2011, with the launch of a new Park Safety Program (PSP) and a host of fun events and activities to help educate skiers and riders about on-mountain safety.

PSP Pass

Safety is paramount at Okemo, and this year the Resort has introduced a terrain-park-pass program that requires skiers and riders to know some basic rules about park safety and etiquette before accessing Okemo’s premier Super Park on Nor’easter. There is no fee for the park pass. The goal of the Park Safety Program is to educate skiers and riders about the courtesy and common sense of riding on, and around, park elements and terrain features. Upon the successful completion of a ten-question quiz, skiers and riders will be issued a certificate to present for a credit-card-sized pass that they must wear, like a season pass, while riding Okemo’s terrain parks. The quiz can be taken online at okemo.com, or in person at Okemo Mountain Resort. Park Rangers will be staffing the Sugarhouse mid-mountain lodge from 8-10 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. on weekends and holidays. On weekdays, the quiz will be offered, throughout the day, at the summit patrol hut.

In the program’s inaugural season, the park pass is mandatory for accessing Okemo’s Super Park on Nor’easter, and recommended for accessing all other parks and Okemo’s Superpipe. Starting next winter, a PSP Pass will be mandatory for all terrain parks. Riding terrain park features without a park pass will initially result in a verbal warning and supplemental warnings may result in loss of lift ticket privileges.

Helmet Safety

Vermont’s own PHAT team (Protect Your Head at All Times/Protect Your Head on All Terrain) will be returning to Okemo, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., on Sunday, Jan. 16. The Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, a partnership of Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care and the University of Vermont College of Medicine will be on location to help educate skiers and riders about helmet use. Over the past several years, this team has been focused on developing a program to prevent serious head injuries by increasing voluntary ski helmet use among children and adults. The team of physicians and health care providers is headed by Robert Williams, M.D., pediatric anesthesiologist and critical care specialist at Vermont Children’s Hospital at Fletcher Allen. In addition to education, the team’s project includes observations of skiers and riders to track data about helmet use. Their work has been presented at medical conferences, accepted for publication in medical journals and has been extensively covered by news media nationwide. The program’s presence at a resort includes posters, distribution of brochures, an exhibit, stickers and prizes. The program is non-coercive and is designed to promote both helmet use and skiing and snowboarding as a healthy lifestyle. Visit www.skihelmetsafety.org for more information.

Okemo will host a “Helmet Head” contest during National Safety Week. Okemo staff members will be out on the mountain taking photos of willing candidates showing their best helmet head – that cool, disheveled look of matted hair that happens when a skier or snowboarder removes his helmet after a great day on the slopes. A panel of judges will select the top-ten best helmet heads and post those photos on Okemo’s Facebook page for voting by Okemo fans. The candidate who receives the most votes will win two complimentary lift tickets for a day of skiing or riding at Okemo.

Also, anyone who purchases a new ski or snowboard helmet at Okemo’s Snowsports Shop Jan. 15-21, will receive a coupon for 50 percent off a full-day lift ticket, or 50 percent off a full-day equipment rental or high-performance demo, or 50 percent off a group lesson or specialty clinic.

Know the Code and Smart Style

The slogan for this year’s National Safety Awareness Week is, “Responsibility is the key to slope safety.” Regardless of how they enjoy the slopes, skiers and riders should always show courtesy to others and be aware that there are elements of risk in skiing that common sense and personal awareness can help reduce. They should also observe the Skier Responsibility Code and Smart Style.

The Code:

1. Always stay in control.
2. People ahead of you have the right of way.
3. Stop in a safe place for you and others.
4. Whenever starting downhill or merging, look uphill and yield.
5. Use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
6. Observe signs and warnings, and keep off closed trails.
7. Know how to use the lifts safely.

Smart Style:

1. MAKE A PLAN
Every time you use freestyle terrain, make a plan for each feature you want to use. Your speed, approach and take off will directly affect your maneuver and landing.
2. LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
Scope around the jumps first, not over them. Know your landings are clear and clear yourself out of the landing area.
3. EASY STYLE IT
Start small and work your way up.
4. RESPECT GETS RESPECT
From the lift line through the park.

On Jan. 16, as a way to promote safety and to familiarize skiers and riders with the Skier Responsibility Code, a Safety Scavenger Hunt will take place on the slopes of Okemo. Elements of the “Code” and “Smart Style” will be posted along trails all over the mountain. Winners who collect The Code elements will receive fabulous prizes from Okemo’s prize vault.

National Safety Awareness Week is an annual event highlighting resort safety education efforts while increasing slope safety. Resorts are encouraged to develop new and creative ways to involve employees and guests in activities for Safety Week.

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3. Free Lift ticket at Killington when you buy a Ski Helmet

The Resort, in partnership with MountainView Hospital and Fremont Emergency Services, is sponsoring Lids on Kids, a national program that provides free ski safety education and helmets to children.

The free program kicks off Jan. 15, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., each Saturday through Feb. 5. Residents are invited to visit a special Lids on Kids tent near the base lodge area where toddlers through preteens will be fitted for a helmet and learn about the skier and snowboarder code of safety.

“Safety, fun and learning. Those are our top priorities,” LVSSR’s director of business affairs Curt Sheffield said in a statement. “Through Lids on Kids, we’re able to help kids by providing a helmet that fits properly.”

Unlike children’s clothing and shoes, ski helmets should not be purchased with “room to grow,” Sheffield said, adding that ski helmets are not effective if they are too small or too large.

Lids on Kids coincides with the National Ski Area Association’s Safety Week, Jan. 15 to 23, 2011. The association educates skiers and snowboarders about resort and slope safety. Although head injuries account for about 15 percent of all skiing and snowboarding injuries, it’s the most frequent cause of death and severe disability, according to the association.

For more information about Lids on Kids, visit www.lidsonkids.org.

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On behalf of the National Ski Areas Association, I’d like to respond to the recent article on New West, “Why Ski Resorts Should Do More to Promote Helmets” by Allen Smith.

From our view, we’d argue that our member ski areas take extraordinary efforts season after season to promote the use of helmets. Millions of parents have visited the Lids on Kids website since its initial launch in 2002. The purpose of the website is to educate parents of the benefits and limitations of wearing a helmet and it includes tips such as determining the proper helmet fit. In addition, NSAA is continuing to advance its helmet safety initiative and has set an end goal of near universal helmet usage by those skiers and riders aged 17 and under by the 2012-13 season. Last season, 57 percent of skiers and snowboarders of all ages voluntarily wore helmets on the slopes, so we are confident that our goal to get kids helmeted is well within reach.

Furthermore, ski areas nationwide offer discounts on helmet purchases throughout the season, and particularly during National Safety Awareness Week. Many resorts host fun safety-themed competitions for their guests and employees, and offer a new helmet as the prize. Our National Kids Safety Poster Coloring Contest has been running for more than 10 seasons now, and each year we receive hundreds of posters from young skiers and riders across the country. The kids who create the winning posters receive a helmet as their prize.

There are currently no states in the U.S. that mandate the use of ski and snowboard helmets. Those efforts are being made in a few select states, but to date, there are no ski helmet laws in place. A little more research on Mr. Smith’s part would have revealed that ski areas nationwide are, in fact, making significant efforts to not only educate their guests on the benefits and limitations of helmets, but to promote the use of helmets.

Thank you for your interest in covering issues that the ski industry takes very seriously

Lids on Kids, which launched in 2002, is part of an initiative to get achieve near universal helmet usage by skiers 17 and younger by the 2012-13 season.

Troy Hawks is the managing editor of the NSAA Journal, a publication of the National Ski Areas Association based in Lakewood, CO.

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Over the last 7 years, the proportion has risen from 16 percent to 82 percent.

The government says awareness campaigns have worked but there’s still a considerable difference between German-speaking and French-speaking parts of the country.

Just under two thirds of skiers in French-speaking Switzerland wear a helmet; in German-speaking regions, the number is 86 percent.

The accident prevention bureau says it’s also important to protect other parts of the body which are vulnerable to injury. The best way to prevent injuries to knees, legs and feet is to have your bindings tested by a professional.

On Wednesday, the state senate passed SB880 by a 21-11 vote, and the assembly approved AB1652 by a 43-19 vote.

SB880 — introduced by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco — would require skiers and snowboarders under 18 to wear helmets at all California winter resorts; according to the bill, violators would be fined up to $25.

Heavenly Mountain Resort fully supports both bills and commended California legislators for spearheading the way to safer slopes, said spokesman Russ Pecoraro.

“We absolutely support the law and we think it’s a great way for California to show leadership,” said Pecoraro. “We think it’s a positive story to tell.”

Pecoraro said like many other resorts in the region, Heavenly has taken the initiative in safety planning by requiring all employees and those participating in their ski school to where helmets. As a resort, he said safety has always been the underlying priority.

“At Heavenly we’ve taken a leadership stance early on,” he said.

Pecoraro preferred not to speculate on what financial impacts the bills might raise for California ski resorts but reaffirmed safety as fundamental in the resort community.

Sean Kristl, marketing manager at Squaw Valley USA, said the resort supports helmet requirements, and it already requires the use of helmets by all race team members and ski school participants.

“As a ski resort we are safety-oriented,” Kristl said. “We’re supportive of any type of safety initiatives.”

Michael Gross, Squaw Valley’s risk manager, said he is familiar with both bills but is still reviewing their wording and fine print — especially that of the assembly bill — before offering the resort’s official stance.

Rachael Woods, public relations manager at Alpine Meadows and Homewood Mountain resorts, shared a similar stance, in that the resorts support the helmet bill but still need time to review AB1652 before an official comment can be made.

At Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort, Public Relation Manager Jessica Van Purnis said their resort willingly supports the state’s decision to use bicycle helmet legislation as the model for its ski helmet mandate for children under the age of 18.

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If it’s signed into law, the helmet requirement would be the most restrictive in the nation, mandating helmets for all skiers and snowboarders under the age of 18 and imposing stricter safety rules on California ski resorts.

The bill by state Assemblyman Dave Jones, D-Sacramento, also would require ski resorts to file annual safety plans and issue monthly reports about injuries and deaths.

Those requirements have been opposed by some in the ski industry, who call the measure extreme and unnecessary. Jack Bruner, a doctor who spoke against the bill, called it a “minefield” and said the law would be unenforceable.

“We view these as a possible invitation to lawsuits,” Michael Dillon, representing the California Ski Industry Association, testified before the Assembly Health Committee.

Jones, the committee’s chairman, agreed to amend the bill to clarify that it would not undermine the assumption of risk taken by a skier or snowboarder when visiting a ski resort.

Alanna Lungren, a skier who competed on the Squaw Valley Ski Race Team and in the Extreme Games qualifier races, testified that she suffered deep injuries after crashing into a tree while wearing a helmet.

“I was told my ski helmet saved me from serious head and brain damage,” Lungren said.

The committee ended up passing the measure, but some lawmakers on the panel expressed concern about the requirement that the industry adopt standardized safety signs and report injuries and deaths.

“I think that what we’re doing here is to try to over-regulate an industry to set up an unenforceable law,” said Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks.

Bill sponsors countered that the bill would not regulate resorts and that it includes no inspection or enforcement mechanisms.

“There’s nothing in the bill that changes the fact that when you walk on the slopes, you’re assuming the risk,” Jones said. “It merely says ‘provide information, provide the safety plans, provide fatality information.’”

Jones added that making it a crime to not wear a helmet, which is a provision in a similar bill introduced by Sen. Leland Yee, was not the best approach.

After the committee’s vote, ski industry representatives said that despite Jones’ offer to amend the bill, they would not change their position. Instead, they would support Yee’s bill, which would require minors to wear a helmet but would not require them to track safety plans, injuries and deaths.

“It would not stop litigation,” Bob Roberts, executive director of the California ski association, said after the hearing. “The language is still rife with legal pitfalls in its current state.”

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Plans include an oversized ski dome set to rise from Dubai’s mega tourism development project-Dubailand. The project is called “Dubai Sunny Mountain Ski Dome”, and it is the first of its kind in the Middle East.

This is fantastic news for not only the tourists it hopes to attract, but for the locals who endure scorching temperatures year round. It will provide an outstanding winter experience in the Middle East that people of that region would otherwise not have access to, with a full range of activities for all ages.

The structure consists of a steel dome, which is said to include a large revolving ski slope, which meanders through an artificial mountain range, giving it an authentic outdoorsy effect. Boreholes of approximately two hundred meters deep have been dug to make use of geothermic energy and to support what will be the largest free-standing dome in the world.

When guests enter the Sunny Mountain Ski Dome, they will be greeted with Arctic experiences including:

• A penguinarium
• A snow castle
• Winter Aquaria
• Ice rink
• Arctic animal statues
• 4 Seasons Aquaria
• Snowfall
• Sound and light effects
• An ice bridge
• A ice slide
• A cable-lift
• Cold and warm bath spa
• Polar bears

This will be a luxurious winter escape amid the arid and dry region. It will also integrate a luxury hotel, shopping mall, themed restaurants, coffee shops and other retail options.
*This luxury project began in February of 2006, and the exact ETA is unknown.

SOURCE: http://www.imaginelifestyles.com/luxuryliving/2010/03/dubai-announces-18-billion-dollar-%E2%80%9Csunny-mountain-ski-dome%E2%80%9D-first-its-kind

What started as a beautiful banner day at Big White Ski Resort yesterday turned to tragedy after a 27-year-old snowboarder from Vancouver died after hitting a tree.

Resort spokesperson Michael J. Ballingall was clearly struggling with the situation when contacted today.

“At a resort like we have, there are lots of highs in our business,” he said. “Yesterday was a real low.”

Since he started at Big White in 1995, this was just the second time someone has died on the hill after hitting an obstacle, the last one about 7 or 8 years ago when a woman from Atlanta hit her head on a rock.

Ballingall said he hasn’t got any official reports of what happened just yet but has pieced together the basics. The man was part of a group of 10 snowboarders in town from the Lower Mainland joining another 10,000 people who hit the mountain on perhaps the best Saturday of the year.

A doctor was also enjoying the day on skis and wasn’t far behind the man on White Foot Bowl, a groomed blue run. He heard people on a nearby chairlift screaming for help for the man. The doctor was on scene within a minute. The doctor sent a tourist down to the Falcon chair to radio ski patrol which was on scene again within minutes. They worked on the man for some time before it was clear that nothing could be done. At that point it was a matter for the RCMP which were also on the hill, and the B.C. Coroners Service. Both agencies are still investigating.

The man’s nine friends were then cared for by a trauma care specialist with the Big White Fire Department who observed them and looked after their needs and ensuring they were safe for the night. Several ski patrollers and staff at Big White also saw a trauma care specialist.

For Ballingall and Big White, the question is what happens now? He has no specific information about how it happened or how fast the snowboarder was going. He knows the rider wasn’t wearing a helmet but more information is needed to determine if that is a factor in the incident.

“If you are going fast enough, the helmet wouldn’t do anything for you,” he says. “But I am sure that debate will be waged across Canada tomorrow.”

The resort will continue to probe the matter as information comes in. Until then, the same code that applied to skiers and snowboarders on Friday and Saturday applies today. The Canada West Ski Areas Association recommends that everyone wear helmets but also encourages education on the limitations of helmets.

“The primary safety consideration and obligation under the Alpine Responsibility Code is to ski and ride in a controlled and responsible manner,” it says.

“The biggest message people have to understand is that when you are sliding down a mountain, you have to observe the terrain and slide in control,” he says. “It is part of the alpine responsibility code to remain in control of your own person and if people live by that, you don’t have collisions and people hitting obstacles.”

Big White also has safety information on its web site.

Brighton Ski Resort has teamed with officials at Intermountain Medical Center, Life Flight and the Brain Injury Association of Utah for a public service campaign called “Save your brain, wear a helmet.” Those who purchase a ski pass at Brighton on Saturday will get a ticket for a helmet raffle to be conducted throughout the day. Those who show up wearing a helmet at the ticket booth will receive a two-for-one night skiing pass to Brighton, which is good any night the rest of the season.

The resort also will sell helmets that day at a discounted rate.

Bill Duehlmeier, a nurse practitioner with the trauma program at Intermountain, said about 49 percent of skiers and snowboarders nationwide wear helmets while on the slopes, yet “approximately 30 to 60 percent of traumatic brain injuries can be avoided by wearing a helmet.” Such injuries are the leading cause of death and serious injury among skiers and snowboarders.

Medical personnel see “more mild traumatic brain injury with snowboarders,” and about 25 percent of snowboarder injuries involve the head. About 20 percent of injuries for skiers involve the head, he said.

“Most of the injuries we see are concussions, but we also stress that concussions can affect your entire life,” Duehlmeier said. “Even a small one can cause issues with your job and personal life with lost concentration and memory. They’ve also been found to affect people’s ability to manage stress and concentrate.”

While nothing can prevent every possible injury, “we do know that major head injuries or life-threatening injuries rarely occur when people are wearing a helmet.”

Traumatic brain injury can lead to serious or lifelong disability, including paralysis and serious concussions that can take months or years for recovery.

Susan Connors, president of the Brain Injury Association of Utah, emphasized in a news release that “a concussion is a brain injury. … Medical evaluation by a licensed health care provider before returning to play is essential to the athlete’s short-term and long-term health.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 135,000 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, each year among children ages 5 to 18.

For more information, contact the association at 801-484-2240, or visit their Web site at www.biau.org.

By Carrie A. Moore

Deseret News
SOURCE: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700013772/Officials-promote-helmet-use-for-skiers-snowboarders.html

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The enforced sale comes because a New York hedge fund that owns the resort is reportedly behind on a £335million loan payment, the result of flagging business and plummeting property values.

If there is no last-minute settlement, its creditors will auction off the 8,000-acre resort – ski slopes, lifts, property, everything – while the eyes of the world are on it.

A sale, which could bring in £160million, would have no direct impact on the Games and British tour operators say there will be no effect on trips to the popular site, above Vancouver in British Columbia. The resort is the largest in North America and attracts about 20 per cent of its visitors from Europe.

Even if the sale goes ahead, it won’t have any direct impact on the medal events.

But the timing of the debt wrangling is another embarrassment to organisers, who have been battling to overcome complaints about overspending on the so-called ‘Bailout Games’ and the tragic death of a Georgian luge contestant on the eve of the opening ceremony.

The background is a parable of our economic times: high-stakes hedge fund gambles, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the possible bankruptcy of a company that owns some of North America’s most prestigious resorts.

‘We don’t know what these new guys want to do with the mountain. It can change your whole life, right?’ said Ian Ribera, manager of Castro’s Cuban Cigar Store in Whistler village.

‘They’re holding the Olympics hostage because a bunch of Wall Street guys aren’t getting fat enough,’ added Ryan Watts, an employee at the Whistler Alpine Guides Bureau.

The story begins in the distant days when Wall Street was on a seemingly unstoppable roll. Fortress paid £1.8billion for Intrawest, which operates Whistler and other elite American resorts.

It borrowed about half the money from big investors like Lehman, the global financial services firm that went broke at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

Analysts say the idea was that soaring property prices would turn Intrawest into a massive profit machine.

Fast-forward to the 2010 Winter Games, and the world is a different place: Resorts are struggling and property prices have plunged, making it difficult to raise money in credit markets to meet loan commitments.

Experts say Whistler should have no trouble attracting suitors if the auction does go ahead. One analyst, Will Marks of JMP Securities, estimated the resort could fetch as much as £160 million ($250million), with Vail Resorts – which owns resorts in Vail and Breckenridge, Colorado – one possible buyer.

Fortress could avoid an asset sale if it puts Intrawest into bankruptcy, a strategy that would buy time and allow it to continue to operate as control shifts to a trustee. A last-minute refinancing deal also remains possible.

Intrawest and Fortress both declined to comment.

‘People feel life will go on, somebody will step in,’ said estate agent Jeremy Anthony Jones. But he added: ‘It’s a little irresponsible to stick it in front of us during the Olympics.’

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1252064/Olympics-host-resort-auctioned-centrepiece-alpine-skiing-events.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ — It was almost four years ago to this day that young Jessica Gregorie traveled from her home in San Francisco for a day of snowboarding with friends at Alpine Meadows Ski Resort. She never returned. Instead, her father, Dr. Dan Gregorie, received a phone call telling him that his 24-year-old daughter was fatally injured.

“The ski resort was well aware of the hazards that led to my daughter’s death,” said Dr. Gregorie. “Had there been basic safety measures in place, such as signs warning of the known dangers, Jessica’s life might have been saved.”

Recognizing the lack of information on snow sport deaths and injuries, as well as the absence of consistent safety standards and practices at resorts, Dr. Gregorie founded the California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization in November 2007.

Assembly member Dave Jones (D-Sacramento) subsequently held hearings on snow sport safety as chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. As a result of the information gathered from the hearings and thorough review of a number of reports and studies, Jones today introduced AB 1652, a comprehensive measure that contains information reporting requirements and safety measures that he hopes will result in a safer snow sport environment for all.

“I understand individuals should have basic responsibilities for their own safety,” said Dr. Gregorie, “however, the resorts also should be responsible for identifying and mitigating known hazards and providing timely information that allows consumers to make informed decisions about their safety at each resort.”

Specifically, AB 1652 will require California ski resorts to:

* Require each employee to wear a ski helmet.
* Adopt and enforce mandatory helmet use for all patrons age 18 years and younger.
* Prepare and post annual safety plans for public access.
* Provide accessible information regarding deaths and injuries, including the what, where, when, why and how of each incident.
* Establish standardized signage for ski-area boundaries and hazard warnings.
* Provide standardized safety padding for use at lift towers and other fixed obstacles.

Currently, California ski resorts are not required to publicly release injury and fatality information or provide uniform signage to alert patrons to known hazards. As a result, there is no resort accountability and no accurate or reliable data to objectively guide the public on snow sport risks and safety. AB 1652 calls for practical safety precautions and provides for information to be available to consumers to make good decisions relative to their personal safety.

“I am hopeful AB 1652 will be passed and signed into law to improve safety for California skiers and snowboarders,” concluded Dr. Gregorie. “This legislation will help to significantly reduce the number of deaths and injuries.”

The California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization (CSSSO) is a non-profit California corporation based in San Francisco. CSSSO promotes and supports safety improvements in California skiing, snowboarding and recreational snow sports and serves as an independent, factual public resource regarding the safety of California ski resorts. For more information, visit www.calskisafety.org.

SOURCE California Ski and Snowboard Safety Organization

RELATED LINKS
http://www.calskisafety.org

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