The injury rate for recreational skiers and snowboarders is approximately 1.37 per 1,000 skier/snowboarder visits. In Colorado, this translates to about 25,000 injuries, from minor to severe, each ski season. Snowboarders and skiers suffer different types of injuries, but their statistical likelihood of an injury is equivalent. Despite common misconceptions, snowboarders are neither more dangerous nor more likely to be injured than skiers.About 5% of all skiing injuries are due to collisions. The uphill or overtaking skier (or rider) has the...
What is a ski collision case?Skiing is not a contact sport and being blindsided by another skier or snowboarder is not an inherent risk under either Colorado or Utah law. Colorado law presumes that the uphill skier or boarder is at fault in a skiing accident, because the overtaking skier has the primary duty to avoid the skier below. In Utah, skiers are required to exercise “reasonable care” to avoid collisions. Usually, this also means the uphill skier must yield to skiers below.Thus, one of the key issues in any skier/skier case is who was the...
