Uniform Safety Regulations Proposed For California Ski Resorts
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – There is a relatively new effort to create a uniform code of standards for ski resorts, but it is facing an increasingly uphill battle.
Dick Penniman is the chief research officer for the SnowSport Safety Foundation, which is embarking on it's second year of rating various resorts for safety.
Their goal is for resorts to use signs identifying potentially dangerous areas on the slopes such as hidden boulders, tree stumps, and out of bounds areas. They would also like to see these signs consistent throughout the region, the way speed limit signs are on an interstate highway.
KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:
"We already have those programs in place," said Bob Roberts, president and CEO of the Calfornia Ski Association. "Every resort in California has a very extensive safety plan. When you start talking about, 'well you should have had a sign there,' you open a legal door."
Roberts said that skiing is an inherently dangerous sport, and a great majority of participants already know that going in.
The SnowSport Safety Foundation was founded by Dr Dan Gregorie after his 24-year-old daughter died in an accident at Alpine Meadows 6 years ago.
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