Sorry if it's been done before but I couldn't find it
Interesting. At first I saw the thread title and thought "come on!" But when you read it some interesting points are made. If he ws able to prove negligence on behalf of the operator, that they hadn't groomed the piste properly and hadn't erected warnings about potential hazards - this was a blue run after all, not a black - then they may well prove to be liable. The fact that he has had to go to court to get them to hand over some fairly standard information would indicate that they may well have something to hide.
For point of comparison, if I was barreling along a blue run at a trail centre and came a cropper on an obstacle that wouldn't have been out of place on a black, I'd be pretty miffed. Whether I would sue or not is another matter, but if my ability to work had been affected by what had happened I probably would if I felt that the centre had failed to provide a facility that was fit for purpose.
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out anyway
I hope his case fails.
On the basis of the information in that article his case should be thrown out.
If he succeeds the world really has gone mad.
Look ahead, read the terrain, ski at an appropriate speed and using appropriate techniques. If in doubt about your ability to ski the slope; stop, take your skis off and walk down. If you can't handle the lumps, dips and bumps that are inevitably left by piste bashers on anything but a completely even surface then stick to the beginners' area. It's a mountain not an artificial tennis court.
To quote someone from the Digby bmx thread the other day
"This is why we don't have anything nice"
Plum.
I worked at a dry slope for years - every single morning, one of us would have to check the slope for worn matting, missing ties or anything else which might present a hazard.
All this was recorded along with other equipment checks and had to be signed by the member of staff.
And this is on a completely flat surface made of door mats 😀
People did occasionally try their luck but I doubt many were successful due to everything being documented. Just the world we live in sadly.
His mate says he may have clipped a fence. Isn't that when the judge throws it out?
anything else which might present a hazard
Like the whole bloody thing! 😀
Kidding, I had a lot of fun on The Carpet of Death, The Diamonds of Dislocation...
I hope he breaks his other leg on the way to court
Anyone taking part in a moving sport has to use their eyes and react to the world around them. Its entirely hjs fault. If a blue trail had a black obstacle in it I'd expect the slow blue spackers to be able to ride around it.
PATHETIC.
I should have sued them when I broke my hip. I wasn't at Cairngorm but it wouldn't be any more spurious.
Next time I call off I'm going after the Peak Park Authority for not grooming the bridleways.
A blue run in Scotland can be harder than any black run in the alps. You don't go to Scotland expecting groomed pistes.
Some toss pot lawyer has obviously shown this guy a golden carrot and he was stupid enough to take it.
Reading between the lines, it looks as though Cairngorm Mountain may not have had all the paperwork in order for that day. This should be kicked out, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets further than we'd like just because there are i's that haven't been dotted or t's that weren't crossed.
Does the defence of "volenti" not still apply nowadays? He chose to run the risk?
He chose to run the risk?
Well, he chose to ski a course that had been specifically set up and signposted as a blue run
if the condition of the course was commensurate with that, then he would not have a case - however if the course wasn't commensurate with it, then he would have a very good case
as has been pointed out, if you set out a blue or red mountain bike route and halfway round it you threw a six foot drop off in the middle of the route, just round a blind corner, then you're gonna get sued, similarly if you put a wooden bridge on it and never check it, then it collapses, then you're gonna be sued
the defence that someone chose to ride it is a valid one, but they have to be able to digest and accept that risk, if you label it as one thing and its not, then you're failing in your duty of care. I have no doubt that the courts are not going to be quick to lay the blame on the ski centre, but it does seem strange that they're fighting releasing their own records.
the defence that someone chose to ride it is a valid one, but they have to be able to digest and accept that risk, if you label it as one thing and its not, then you're failing in your duty of care
That's not how ratings on ski runs work. Blue might well be the easiest way down but that doesn't make it easy and they certainly don't change rating with snow conditions. The so called "death cookies" aren't pleasant to ski on but changeable conditions are something that you just have to look out for and deal with.
not really - unlike councils who have to provide this sort of information under freedom of information etc - businesses are hardly going to encourage people to request these records to support speculative claims.The fact that he has had to go to court to get them to hand over some fairly standard information would indicate that they may well have something to hide.
For point of comparison, if I was barreling along a blue run at a trail centre and came a cropper on an obstacle that wouldn't have been out of place on a black, I'd be pretty miffed. Whether I would sue or not is another matter, but if my ability to work had been affected by what had happened I probably would if I felt that the centre had failed to provide a facility that was fit for purpose.
If there was a feature you built in, or were very aware of you might well have a problem. If however someone placed an obstacle there, or the weather made it icy, or a branch fell on the path you might be much less liable, especially if you regularly inspected the paths. How often you [i]should[/i] inspect would depend on what is reasonable and I would suggest that means: the risks (weather), how busy it is, how likely it is to change, how often you've found issues in the past, etc. If you've got staff around and nobody else is reporting a hazard to them then this would also be a good sign.
My experience of most Scottish slopes (I can't remember if Cairngorm does this or not) is there is a board at the uplifts describing the conditions. I've never seen them saying "perfect well groomed slope".
Well its not his mate who said that, its the ski patrol who said his mate said it - so its hearsay.His mate says he may have clipped a fence. Isn't that when the judge throws it out?
'death cookies' being the skiing equivalent of some large gravel on an otherwise smooth hard pack blue run....
Jesus FC, I expect them to put a lift to the top in place, everything else is down to me. 3cm shorter in one leg? It's the NHS he wants to sue.
Sheesh. I think doing any sort if activity like skiing, cycling comes with an element of risk and things go wrong and you can get hurt. If you're going to do, it you need to accept this because the people running resorts cannot check constantly and things change and develop.
The court need to tell him to suck it up.
Death Cookies, ice, ruts are part of skiing (especially in Scotland). Clipping a fence sounds plausible as they are often buried with just the odd tip showing through. Again that's part of the "unique nature" of Scottish skiing. If the snow fences weren't there, the slopes would be blown bare by the wind and there would be no skiing at all.
He needs to MTFU.
3cm shorter in one leg? It's the NHS he wants to sue.
WTF you rail against him suing them then say that 😯
We do not even know what they did
It might have been that or lose the leg
You ski to suit the conditions. The skier sounds like a prat.
He messed up and is now trying to blame everything else for his incompetence, and inability to risk assess .
I remember sharing a ski lift at Cairngorm with an American.
He was horrified at condition of the slopes and proceeded to whine all the way up, about how they wouldn’t let people ski on something like that in states because of the fear of being sued .
I suggested something along the lines of ,that if he was too frightened ,then maybe he should try the beginners button tow or choose something else to do that day within his skill range .
