March 9, 2011 Take Responsibility For Your Actions

The ski area is NOT responsible for you once you leave the ski area, there the local sheriff is your rescue (or the feds in the park).

The ski area CAN OPT to assist if they have resources and personnel. However, Crystal Mountain is not a charity and they will charge. Again, if they don't have the personnel or you cant afford the Crystal Mountain rescue, they will help you get the sheriff. AND for NO charge, they probably will assist in base communications and they WILL send the sheriff's rescue team and equipment up the lift. AND they will stay on alert to bail out the sheriff in an emergency (I bet they charge the sheriff for a bailout, or claim a tax deduction).

Why do you think the national park is so strict about the enforcement of the ski area boundary?!?! because they don't want to budget for the rescue of lift skiers wandering into the park without gear or a map or a plan...

We don’t have a ‘policy’ for every possible situation. Our policy is “it depends”. (And as Corey said we probably wouldn't broadcast it publicly even if we did).

This pretty much sums up why there is so much confusion. "Even if we have a policy, we won't tell you. Oh, and btw-don't complain."

I think Alisa's point is fairly reasoned and Dustins point is valid, as well.  It's also fair that the 'it depends' comment leaves some discomfort.  One thing I am quite certain of is that no patroller is going to leave a lost soul stranded when help is asked for.  If time is of the essence, patrol will respond whether compensated or not.  If time and conditions allow, victims may be given a range of choices.

You cross the rope at your own peril, and that this is known in general to have a consequence when things go wrong leads to fewer doing it and thereby puts fewer in harms way.  Really, it's the way it should be

This is getting to be kind of a silly debate, guys...

It is not unreasonable or unusual for a ski area to charge a fee for an out of bounds rescue.

That said, the whole posting the guy who wouldn't pay's name on a blog is probably illegal. If he agreed to pay, and refused, he owes a debt, and Crystal Mountain should be able to go through a collection agency to get paid if they want, but there are privacy laws... If you don't pay your car payment, your credit card bill, your hospital bill, they don't get to put your name in the newspaper, they send it to collections, put it on your credit report, take you to court, etc...

Its crappy for the guy to refuse to pay... its like saying f'off, I don't appreciate you guys risking your lives, and working late and taking the time to get me out of a bad situation I chose to put myself in..

I get that the money is most likely going to just go into the ski resort coffers, and is probably a drop in the bucket to them, and we all have our dislike for the corporate entities that run most ski resorts, but if you are going to play on their playground, you play and pay by their rules...

And as for agreeing to pay while under duress? How much is your life worth? If you are lost, or injured or your buddy is injured and you are so freaked out that you cannot make a rational decision about paying for your rescue, if you cannot think to ask what your other options are, and make a choice, you probably need help ASAP, and the quickest help is most likely going to come from ski patrol.

If you call an ambulance, it isn't free. When you go to the hospital it isn't free.. well for of most of us it isn't, anyway..

So why should the ski patrol rescue people from out of bounds for free?

If it was me, I would gladly pay... I hope no one ever has to risk their life to rescue me because I made a poor decision, got in over my head, or even just had an accident that could happen to anyone... but if it ever happens, I will be very appreciative, pay the bill, and probably buy them some beer, too..

The ability of a ski area to successfully bill someone for an out of area rescue would be greatly helped if State law clearly made leaving the ski area boundary or entering closed areas a violation subject to arrest and penalty.

Let's see how the proposed law develops...

It is not unreasonable or unusual for a ski area to charge a fee for an out of bounds rescue.

It is perhaps not unreasonable, but is it legal?  If not, then it seems more like Crystal is the unreasonable party.  But since there seems to be so much gray area I could see them thinking things are one way when they are not, or some version of the "telephone game" that we played as kids where one person whispers something to the next person and by the time it reaches the last person it's a different word or phrase altogether.  It could just be human error on Crystal's part, which is regrettable but certainly forgivable.

The ability of a ski area to successfully bill someone for an out of area rescue would be greatly helped if State law clearly made leaving the ski area boundary or entering closed areas a violation subject to arrest and penalty.

Yikes!  Do people really support arrest for poaching?  I certainly don't.  Are there others here like me who would support the exact opposite, legislation that would make it fully legal to cross ski area boundaries onto public land?  Perhaps as a compromise many skiers would accept paying for rescue as a trade-off for the increase in personal freedom?