New $1000 fine for riding out of bounds?????

ridelife · 02-15-2006

State lawmakers have proposed a new law making a $1000 fine for people caught crossing out of bounds. What is this world comming to?

Delbert Grady · 02-15-2006

Doesn't pretty much every ski area have back country access gates? Leave the resort through the gate and they can't touch you, end of story.

Salto · 02-15-2006

To be clear. The $1000 fine is for skiing in closed areas of the ski resorts permit or private property. Backcountry travelers ARE allowed to legally duck any rope and exit the resort permit boundary or ski property to enter public lands, you do not have to exit out a gate. However, it is illegal to re-enter under a rope, one must enter through a re-entry gate or at the resort base.

So, if a resort closed an area within there permit or property, it is illegal to enter that area and may be punishable with the new fine. The new fine is totally driven by the summit county sheriff.

chadmckenzie26 · 02-15-2006

Denver Post article. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3509949

tellutwurp · 02-15-2006

I was talking to a patroller the other day about the ambiguities of skiing out of bounds... and he finally claimed that basically if you need rescue then you get fined, if not, then you don't. simple as that, right out of his mouth.

Killclimbz · 02-15-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salto

To be clear. The $1000 fine is for skiing in closed areas of the ski resorts permit or private property. Backcountry travelers ARE allowed to legally duck any rope and exit the resort permit boundary or ski property to enter public lands, you do not have to exit out a gate. However, it is illegal to re-enter under a rope, one must enter through a re-entry gate or at the resort base.

So, if a resort closed an area within there permit or property, it is illegal to enter that area and may be punishable with the new fine. The new fine is totally driven by the summit county sheriff.

Salto, I was under the impression that you had to use and access gate to go into the BC legally froma resort. This is not true? Copper has their Jacque's peak gate which is way down towards the bottom of the mountain. It makes for a hell of a tour to get there. Are you telling me you could just duck the rope in Copper bowl and tour out there? Seems to me ski patrol would have something to say about it, but maybe not. Either way I think the fine is BS.

couloircat · 02-15-2006

To my knowledge you are supposed to leave the area through and enter through gates only, I personally think it's sort of ludacrious but that's what my supervisors have told me and I'm just a lowly ski patroller. The only support I have for the validity of this argument is that the guys last year who caused the avalanche in the sky chutes off of breck were fined and not for their rescue but for ducking the ropes were they could have gone out the gate. Also at Beaver Creek I know they try and enforce the same policy when it comes to the "Y" chutes were technically you should go through the loco gate but in reality most people take a boot pack under a rope, and I've heard of repercussions for those caught under the rope. That said I think it's a large fine and there should either be more gates or less ropes, people should be responsible to make their own decisions... it works in Europe.

jacksplasticraft · 02-15-2006

what about the guys that triggered thr slide in sky chutes last year? they cut the rope on peak 7..........................Its a sad state of affairs I dont mind a few hundred extra vert to get where i want but $1000 is out of control I moved to Salida this year from Breck looks like not a minute to soon

Andy H. · 02-15-2006

Its been illegal to duck ropes at Breck since about 1988 - the year after the Peak 7 avalanche. That slide killed 4 guys that were standing around under avalanche path when another skiier who had hiked up triggered the slide from the summit of Peak 7 (unaware that anyone was down below him). At the time there was a boundary rope on the north end of the North Bowl area (along Forget-Me-Not) and folks were ducking it, going out of bounds and skiing Debs and Vertigo chutes, then coming back in-bounds and riding the lifts back up to do it again.

If you think they're touchy about ducking ropes these days, you should've been there when they roped off a 5-ft wide strip just inside the boundary and called it an in-bounds closure so they could keep people from legally exiting the ski area. And the sheriff was hanging outside the area on a snowmobile waiting to bust folks.

To my knowledge, ducking ropes is always a no-no that can get you busted, fined and possibly even get your pass & gear confiscated.

--Andy

Salto · 02-16-2006

It is illegal to duck a rope into an area deemed CLOSED by thte ski area. It is not illegal to duck a rope from an open area in a resort to public lands. Its our right, we own the lands. It is illegal to re-enter a resort by ducking a rope, returns must be done through a gate, or at the base area of the resort. Monarch has told me that once you leave their permitted ski area you are not allowed to return at all.

Of course, all patrollers will say it is illegal. Its just a pain in the butt for them.

Since I know a few of you ski at Monarch.....

The old gate going to mirkwood basin was a little hidden gem. Now we can hike the cat track to mirkwood, and mirkwood is "controlled", and now we cannot go there when we please (another rant for another time). So, I was talking with the patrollers in the shack, and I asked them if they had provided a new gate at the end of mirkwood going into the forest area to the east. They said no, they had not recieved a new "gate" from the forest service. seems like a wierd answer. So, monarch holds a second permit adjoining Mirkwood (wich is now the ski area) for the CAT operation. Well, I would like to ski further past mirkwood(and have), and some of the nice lines facing southwest on the otherside of the bowl and down into the other drainage. This is forest land, and we should have a right to enter, but no gate. I have ducked the rope and toured past, with the thought that i was on public land, and not re-entering the resort, we headed down to road. As far as I know this is ok, but the cat operators sure did not like it....