N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-106 – Duties of skiers and ski area operators with respect to inherent risks
§ 18-106. Duties of skiers and ski area operators with respect to inherent risks. It is recognized that skiing is a voluntary activity that may be hazardous regardless of all feasible safety measures that can be undertaken by ski area operators. Accordingly:
Terms Used In N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-106
- Lift ticket: means any item issued by a ski area operator to any skier that is intended to be affixed to the outerwear of the skier, or otherwise displayed by a skier, to signify lawful entry upon and use of the passenger tramways or ski slopes or trails maintained by the ski area operator. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-102
- Ski area: means all ski slopes, ski trails and passenger tramways administered as a single enterprise within this state. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-102
- Ski area operator: means a person, firm or corporation, and its agents and employees, having operational and administrative responsibility for any ski area, including any agency of the state, any political subdivision thereof, and any other governmental agency or instrumentality. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-102
- Skier: means any person wearing a ski or skis and any person actually on a ski slope or trail located at a ski area, for the purpose of skiing. See N.Y. General Obligations Law 18-102
1. Ski area operators shall have the following additional duties:
a. To post at every point of sale or distribution of lift tickets, whether on or off the premises of the ski area operator, a conspicuous "Warning to Skiers" relative to the inherent risks of skiing in accordance with regulations promulgated by the commissioner of labor pursuant to subdivision four of § 867 of the labor law, and to imprint upon all lift tickets sold or distributed, such text and graphics as the commissioner of labor shall similarly specify, which shall conspicuously direct the attention of all skiers to the required "Warning to Skiers";
b. To post at every point of sale or distribution of lift tickets at a ski area notice to skiers and passengers that this article prescribes certain duties for skiers, passengers and ski area operators, and to make copies of this article in its entirety available without charge upon request to skiers and passengers in a central location at the ski area;
c. To make available at reasonable fees, as required by subdivision thirteen of section 18-103 of this article, instruction and education for skiers relative to the risks inherent in the sport and the duties prescribed for skiers by this article, and to conspicuously post notice of the times and places of availability of such instruction and education in locations where it is likely to be seen by skiers; and
d. To post notice to skiers of the right to a refund to the purchaser in the form and amount paid in the initial sale of any lift ticket returned to the ski area operator, intact and unused, upon declaration by such purchaser that he or she is unprepared or unwilling to ski due to the risks inherent in the sport or the duties imposed upon him or her by this article.
2. Skiers shall have the following additional duties to enable them to make informed decisions as to the advisability of their participation in the sport:
a. To seek out, read, review and understand, in advance of skiing, a "Warning to Skiers" as shall be defined pursuant to subdivision five of § 867 of the labor law, which shall be displayed and provided pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision one of this section; and
b. To obtain such education in the sport of skiing as the individual skier shall deem appropriate to his or her level of ability, including the familiarization with skills and duties necessary to reduce the risk of injury in such sport.