Spring may be around the corner, but there’s still plenty of snow up north. 

While skiing is extremely popular, all skiers know that the sport is somewhat hazardous.  The Little Book of Skiing Law by Cecil C. Kuhne III covers some interesting controversies arising from such ski resorts as Aspen, Vail, Jackson Hole, Killington, and Stratton Mountain.  Many involve the risks that the skier encounters on and off the slopes.

The cases included involve such diverse legal questions as:

• Can the Utah tourism board freely use the phrase “The Greatest Snow on Earth” without violating the famous circus trademark? (Ringling Bros.-Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows v. Utah Division of Travel Development)
• Are the incriminating words of a ski resort employee who witnessed an accident admissible as an excited utterance under the hearsay rule? (Brunsting v. Lutsen Mountains Corp.)
• Can an extremely aggressive skier who collides with and kills another skier be tried for reckless manslaughter? (People v. Hall)
• Can a ski resort on national forest land use recycled wastewater for snowmaking if it offends the religious sensibilities of the Native Americans who consider the land sacred? (Navajo Nation v. US Forest Service)
• Is falling down an unmarked ravine near a ski run an “inherent danger and risk” of skiing? (Graven v. Vail Associates, Inc.)
• Is a ski area negligent for failing to cover a ski-lift tower with cushioned pads? (Leopold v. Okemo Mountain, Inc.)