2021 Colorado Code
Title 33 - Parks and Wildlife
Article 44 - Ski Safety and Liability
§ 33-44-107. Duties of Ski Area Operators - Signs and Notices Required for Skiers' Information

1. Each ski area operator shall maintain a sign and marking system as set forth in this section in addition to that required by section 33-44-106. All signs required by this section shall be maintained so as to be readable and recognizable under conditions of ordinary visibility.
2. A sign shall be placed in such a position as to be recognizable as a sign to skiers proceeding to the uphill loading point of each base area lift depicting and explaining signs and symbols which the skier may encounter at the ski area as follows:
   1. The ski area's least difficult trails and slopes, designated by a green circle and the word “easiest”;
   2. The ski area's most difficult trails and slopes, designated by a black diamond and the words “most difficult”;
   3. The ski area's trails and slopes which have a degree of difficulty that falls between the green circle and the black diamond designation, designated by a blue square and the words “more difficult”;
   4. The ski area's extreme terrain shall be signed at the commonly used access designated with two black diamonds containing the letters “E” in one and “X” in the other in white and the words “extreme terrain”. The ski area's specified freestyle terrain areas shall be designated with an orange oval.
   5. Closed trails or slopes, designated by an octagonal-shaped sign with a red border around a white interior containing a black figure in the shape of a skier with a black band running diagonally across the sign from the upper right-hand side to the lower left-hand side and with the word “Closed” printed beneath the emblem.

3. If applicable, a sign shall be placed at or near the loading point of each passenger tramway, as follows:
4. If a particular trail or slope or portion of a trail or slope is closed to the public by a ski area operator, such operator shall place a sign notifying the public of that fact at each identified entrance of each portion of the trail or slope involved. Alternatively, such a trail or slope or portion thereof may be closed with ropes or fences.
5. The ski area operator shall place a sign at or near the beginning of each trail or slope, which sign shall contain the appropriate symbol of the relative degree of difficulty of that particular trail or slope as set forth by subsection (2) of this section. This requirement shall not apply to a slope or trail designated “easiest” which to a skier is substantially visible in its entirety under conditions of ordinary visibility prior to his beginning to ski the same.
6. The ski area operator shall mark its ski area boundaries in a fashion readily visible to skiers under conditions of ordinary visibility. Where the owner of land adjoining a ski area closes all or part of his land and so advises the ski area operator, such portions of the boundary shall be signed as required by paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of this section. This requirement shall not apply in heavily wooded areas or other nonskiable terrain.
7. The ski area operator shall mark hydrants, water pipes, and all other man-made structures on slopes and trails which are not readily visible to skiers under conditions of ordinary visibility from a distance of at least one hundred feet and shall adequately and appropriately cover such obstructions with a shock-absorbent material that will lessen injuries. Any type of marker shall be sufficient, including but not limited to wooden poles, flags, or signs, if the marker is visible from a distance of one hundred feet and if the marker itself does not constitute a serious hazard to skiers. Variations in steepness or terrain, whether natural or as a result of slope design or snowmaking or grooming operations, including but not limited to roads and catwalks or other terrain modifications, are not man-made structures, as that term is used in this article.
8. 1. . The words “WARNING” shall appear on the sign in red letters. The warning notice specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection (8) shall appear on the sign in black letters, with each letter to be a minimum of one inch in height.
   2. Every ski lift ticket sold or made available for sale to skiers by any ski area operator shall contain in clearly readable print the warning notice specified in paragraph (c) of this subsection (8).
   3. The signs described in paragraph (a) of this subsection (8) and the lift tickets described in paragraph (b) of this subsection (8) shall contain the following warning notice:

“WARNING: This lift services (most difficult) or (most difficult and more difficult) or (more difficult) slopes only.”

WARNING

Under Colorado law, a skier assumes the risk of any injury to person or property resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing and may not recover from any ski area operator for any injury resulting from any of the inherent dangers and risks of skiing, including: Changing weather conditions; existing and changing snow conditions; bare spots; rocks; stumps; trees; collisions with natural objects, man-made objects, or other skiers; variations in terrain; and the failure of skiers to ski within their own abilities.

History. Source: L. 79: Entire article added, pp. 1242, 1245, §§ 1, 1, effective July 1. L. 90: (2)(d) and (7) amended and (8) added, p. 1541, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2004: (2)(d) amended, p. 1383, § 2, effective May 28.

For the legislative declaration contained in the 1990 act amending subsections (2)(d) and (7) and enacting subsection (8), see section 1 of chapter 256, Session Laws of Colorado 1990.

Issue of whether ski area had a duty to warn its patrons is a question of law to be resolved by the court, which can be resolved on appeal through an interpretation of the Ski Safety Act. Graven v. Vail Assocs., Inc., 888 P.2d 310 (Colo. App. 1994).

Duties imposed on ski area operators by this act concern a very limited number of specifically identified activities and conditions that relate only to the posting of certain specified signs and to providing lighting and other conspicuous markings for snow-grooming vehicles and snowmobiles. Graven v. Vail Assocs., Inc., 888 P.2d 310 (Colo. App. 1994).

Nothing in this section suggests that a ski area operator has a duty to provide any additional warnings regarding the defined “inherent dangers and risks of skiing”. Graven v. Vail Assocs., Inc., 888 P.2d 310 (Colo. App. 1994).

No additional consideration is required for a lift ticket's exculpatory language to be enforceable where the payment and exculpatory agreement are better viewed as part of the same transaction, rather than as a subsequent contract modification. Patterson v. PowderMonarch, LLC, 926 F.3d 633 (10th Cir. 2019).

Although plaintiff pre-paid for the recreational activity, plaintiff was aware that the transaction was not complete at the time of payment. Receipt of an exculpatory agreement before the recreational activity began was an integrated part of the whole transaction. Patterson v. PowderMonarch, LLC, 926 F.3d 633 (10th Cir. 2019).

Ski area not liable for failing to post a warning sign since an area presenting variations in steepness or terrain, such as a drop-off or ravine is an area presenting inherent dangers and risks of skiing and is not a “danger area” requiring a particular type of warning sign. Graven v. Vail Assocs., Inc. 888 P.2d 310 (Colo. App. 1994).

“Ski slopes or trails” includes all ski slopes or trails and adjoining skiable terrain; therefore, ski area operators do not simply have a duty to mark ski area boundaries in a fashion readily visible to skiers who are located in certain designated areas, but instead they are required to mark boundaries in a fashion readily visible to any person skiing on a slope, trail, or adjoining skiable terrain. Anderson v. Vail Corp., 251 P.3d 1125 (Colo. App. 2010); Ciocian v. Vail Corp., 251 P.3d 1130 (Colo. App. 2010).

The phrase “such obstructions” in subsection (7) clearly refers to the obstructions referred to earlier in the sentence, namely, “man-made structures which are not readily visible to skiers under conditions of ordinary visibility from a distance of at least 100 feet”. Rowan v. Vail Holdings, Inc., 31 F. Supp. 2d 889 (D. Colo. 1998 ).

Applied in Rimkus v. Northwest Colo. Ski Corp., 706 F.2d 1060 (10th Cir. 1983); Schlumbrecht-Muniz v. Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp., 132 F. Supp. 3d 1310 (D. Colo. 2015 ).