State lands and non-resort skiing

[ss20]

So I noticed something interesting on Mohawk's FB page...they said their uphill policy had changed (idk when). Last I heard you could go up and ski down anytime without a lift ticket or waiver or anything- no oversight from the mountain. Because it was on state land they couldn't stop you from using the land. The policy has changed and gotten much tougher-

http://www.mohawkmtn.com/uphill-policy.html
http://www.mohawkmtn.com/data/uploads/uphiller_faq_12.2017.pdf

There's a lot of information but in general they went from being pretty much unrestricted (as far as I can recall) to being just as restrictive as a ski area on private land.


Another case...this one was personal...at Belleayre (also state land). The mountain closed due to power outages on the day of that crazy Catskills blizzard back on March 2. Me and a couple other people decided to hike up. We got 1/2 way up and then a ski patroller came down doing the final sweep of the trail and said we could not continue going up- we had to ski down and then we could hike back up if we wanted.


I don't uphill and I'm not trying to start a movement or anything but what's up with this trend in the industry? I thought state lands were pretty much fair game for anyone there?

 

[Glenn]

I wonder if insurance is a driving reason? Despite being state land, the resort could have some liability exposure.

 

[skimagic]

I wonder if insurance is a driving reason? Despite being state land, the resort could have some liability exposure.

And I'm sure their lease specifies access and other operational controls.

 

[skiur]

I believe state land is different then federal land, I don't think you can be restricted from federal land. To be sure you would have to get a hold of the lease between the ski operator and the state.