Mount Snow is Too Funny

[billski]

So I'm staying at this B&B on Saturday and a couple comes in and says they spent the day hiking at Mt. Snow. Hike up/down. They related that Mt. Snow made them sign a liability release form. Upon asking why, the attendant said, "You know there are bears out there don't you?"

Gotta love corporations and corporate lawyers! :dunce:

 

[powpig2002]

if u can get 2.9 mil for riding a bike into a yellow gate, untold mils if your ass gets eaten by a bear.

 

[billski]

if u can get 2.9 mil for riding a bike into a yellow gate, untold mils if your ass gets eaten by a bear.

"Attractive Nuisance" as they say in lawyer-lingo? Guess I should have sued the glacier for putting the rocks there and the AT Conference for making them accessible so I could fall on them? Sad sad sad.

 

[Hawkshot99]

They should just be happy, the mountain actually allows them on the property.

 

[bvibert]

They should just be happy, the mountain actually allows them on the property.

A sad, but true statement in today's society...

 

[billski]

They should just be happy, the mountain actually allows them on the property.

Happy? I doubt it. With thousands of other hikes, many of which are better, I'll take my walking sticks elsewhere. Last thing I need is a lot of regulations while trying to "get away from it all."

 

[drjeff]

Billski, I can tell you from many experiences that if you're not doing LIFT SERVED hiking at Mount Snow, then you aren't forced into signing a release

 

[Hawkshot99]

Happy? I doubt it. With thousands of other hikes, many of which are better, I'll take my walking sticks elsewhere. Last thing I need is a lot of regulations while trying to "get away from it all."

It is private property. If you do not wish to follow there rules, then you are not welcome on the property.
What if it was a single person that just owned the mountain, and not a ski company? Should they have to let you hike there with no rules? With the way that this country has become with lawsuits, a person can go and sue Mt. Snow for not clearing a root from some trail or some other bogus complaint.
I am sure Mt. Snow has no problem with you taking your hiking stick somewhere else. Mt. Snow is a business that exists to make money. What are you as a hiker doing to enhance their money making? Consesions are not open for them to sell you food, they do not charge you for a lift ticket.

 

[billski]

It is private property. If you do not wish to follow there rules, then you are not welcome on the property.
What if it was a single person that just owned the mountain, and not a ski company? Should they have to let you hike there with no rules? With the way that this country has become with lawsuits, a person can go and sue Mt. Snow for not clearing a root from some trail or some other bogus complaint.
I am sure Mt. Snow has no problem with you taking your hiking stick somewhere else. Mt. Snow is a business that exists to make money. What are you as a hiker doing to enhance their money making? Consesions are not open for them to sell you food, they do not charge you for a lift ticket.

Paper (and other natural resource) companies allow outdoors-people to use their roads, their tens of thousands of acres of land to hunt, fish and camp without having to sign a liability waiver. They only ask you to follow some simple rules about staying clear of their operations. There are certainly signs posted, but that's about the extent of it.

If they want to make it into a NY-style boardwalk, where they charge admission to get on the beach, go for it. I'm sure there's a market for it. It's just one more place I don't need to go to. It still seems pretty silly.

 

[Geoff]

I thought Mount Snow was on Green Mountain National Forest land?

 

[marcski]

Billski, I can tell you from many experiences that if you're not doing LIFT SERVED hiking at Mount Snow, then you aren't forced into signing a release

Is it really hiking if its lift-served? Query?

 

[legalskier]

So I'm staying at this B&B on Saturday and a couple comes in and says they spent the day hiking at Mt. Snow. Hike up/down. They related that Mt. Snow made them sign a liability release form. Upon asking why, the attendant said, "You know there are bears out there don't you?"

Gotta love corporations and corporate lawyers! :dunce:

Bill, you raise a fascinating issue here. Would you care to research and brief the class on it?
:smile:

 

[billski]

Bill, you raise a fascinating issue here. Would you care to research and brief the class on it?
:smile:

If the price is right. :dunce:

 

[legalskier]

If the price is right. :dunce:

So it isn’t only lawyers who are greedy then? :dunce:

But seriously, if you really are interested in this area of premises liability law, you might wish to take a look at the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision in Dalury v. S-K-I and Killington, which reversed the summary judgment granted by the trial court to defendants and held that a release signed by plaintiff skier as part of his season pass was unenforceable and void as against public policy in Vermont, thus permitting his lawsuit to proceed concerning injuries sustained when he crashed into a metal pole.

Btw, that's free of charge.

 

[billski]

So it isn’t only lawyers who are greedy then? :dunce:

But seriously, if you really are interested in this area of premises liability law, you might wish to take a look at the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision in Dalury v. S-K-I and Killington, which reversed the summary judgment granted by the trial court to defendants and held that a release signed by plaintiff skier as part of his season pass was unenforceable and void as against public policy in Vermont, thus permitting his lawsuit to proceed concerning injuries sustained when he crashed into a metal pole.

Btw, that's free of charge.

A-ha. I thought you were hiring me to do legal research for your use! There's a fine line between free market and greed!

It's fairly well-known among non-esquires (myself included) that liability releases are often unenforceable, yet it often required in order to discourage silly lawsuits.

 

[drjeff]

I thought Mount Snow was on Green Mountain National Forest land?

The top roughly 2/3rds of the main mountain, The Northface, Sunbrook, and a small portion of Carinthia are on GMNF land. The bottom 1/3rd of the main mountain and most of Carinthia are on private land