2011 Connecticut Code
Title 29 Public Safety and State Police
Chapter 538a Passenger Tramways
Sec. 29-212. (Formerly Sec. 19-418l). Assumption of risk of injury caused by hazards inherent in the sport of skiing.

      Sec. 29-212. (Formerly Sec. 19-418l). Assumption of risk of injury caused by hazards inherent in the sport of skiing. (a) For the purposes of this section:

      (1) "Skier" includes any person who is using a ski area for the purpose of skiing or who is on the skiable terrain of a ski area as a spectator or otherwise, but does not include (A) any person using a snow tube provided by a ski area operator, and (B) any person who is a spectator while in a designated spectator area during any event;

      (2) "Skiing" means sliding downhill or jumping on snow or ice using skis, a snowboard, snow blades, a snowbike, a sit-ski or any other device that is controllable by its edges on snow or ice or is for the purpose of utilizing any skiable terrain, but does not include snow tubing operations provided by a ski area operator; and

      (3) "Ski area operator" means a person who owns or controls the operation of a ski area and such person's agents and employees.

      (b) Each skier shall assume the risk of and legal responsibility for any injury to his or her person or property caused by the hazards inherent in the sport of skiing. Such hazards include, but are not limited to: (1) Variations in the terrain of the trail or slope which is marked in accordance with subdivision (3) of section 29-211 or variations in surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions, except that no skier assumes the risk of variations which are caused by the ski area operator unless such variations are caused by snow making, snow grooming or rescue operations; (2) bare spots which do not require the closing of the trail or slope; (3) conspicuously placed or, if not so placed, conspicuously marked lift towers; (4) trees or other objects not within the confines of the trail or slope; (5) loading, unloading or otherwise using a passenger tramway without prior knowledge of proper loading and unloading procedures or without reading instructions concerning loading and unloading posted at the base of such passenger tramway or without asking for such instructions; and (6) collisions with any other person by any skier while skiing, except that collisions with on-duty employees of the ski area operator who are skiing and are within the scope of their employment at the time of the collision shall not be a hazard inherent in the sport of skiing.

      (c) The provisions of this section shall not apply in any case in which it is determined that a claimant's injury was not caused by a hazard inherent in the sport of skiing.

      (P.A. 79-629, S. 3; P.A. 05-78, S. 2.)

      History: Sec. 19-418l transferred to Sec. 29-212 in 1983; P.A. 05-78 added Subsec. (a) defining "skier", "skiing" and "ski area operator", designated existing provisions as Subsec. (b) and amended same by making technical changes, replacing "arising out of the hazards" with "caused by the hazards", deleting provision re proximate cause of injury, adding "conspicuously placed, or, if not so placed," in Subdiv. (3), replacing "boarding" with "loading, unloading or otherwise using" in Subdiv. (5) and adding exception re collisions with on-duty employees of ski area operator in Subdiv. (6), and added Subsec. (c) re exception when determined that claimant's injury was not caused by hazard inherent in sport of skiing.

      Phrase "operation of the ski area by the ski area operator" includes not merely the duties enumerated in Sec. 29-211 but also those services offered by a ski area operator as components of its business activities, regardless of whether the services are statutorily or otherwise required; plaintiff may maintain action against ski area operator for injury suffered from collision with employee of operator because negligence of an employee or agent of a ski area operator is not an inherent hazard of the sport of skiing. 269 C. 672.