A. It is recognized that skiing as a recreational sport is inherently hazardous to skiers, and it is the duty of each skier to conduct himself carefully.

B. A person who takes part in the sport of skiing accepts as a matter of law the dangers inherent in that sport insofar as they are obvious and necessary. Each skier expressly assumes the risk of and legal responsibility for any injury to person or property which results from participation in the sport of skiing, in the skiing area, including any injury caused by the following: variations in terrain; surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions; bare spots; rocks, trees or other forms of forest growth or debris; lift towers and components thereof, pole lines and snow-making equipment which are plainly visible or are plainly marked in accordance with the provisions of Section 24-15-7 NMSA 1978; except for any injuries to persons or property resulting from any breach of duty imposed upon ski area operators under the provisions of Sections 24-15-7 and 24-15-8 NMSA 1978. Therefore, each skier shall have the sole individual responsibility for knowing the range of his own ability to negotiate any slope or trail, and it shall be the duty of each skier to ski within the limits of the skier's own ability, to maintain reasonable control of speed and course at all times while skiing, to heed all posted warnings, to ski only on a skiing area designated by the ski area operator and to refrain from acting in a manner which may cause or contribute to the injury of anyone.

C. Responsibility for collisions by any skier while actually skiing, with any person or object, shall be solely that of each individual involved in the collision, except where an employee, agent or officer of the ski area operator is personally involved in a collision while in the course and scope of his employment or where a collision resulted from any breach of duty imposed upon a ski area operator under the provisions of Sections 24-15-7 or 24-15-8 NMSA 1978. Each skier has the duty to stay clear of and avoid collisions with snow-maintenance equipment, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles marked in compliance with the provisions of Subsections A and J of Section 24-15-7 NMSA 1978, all other vehicles, lift towers, signs and any other structures, amenities or equipment on the ski slopes and trails or in the skiing area.

D. No person shall:

(1) place any object in the skiing area or on the uphill track of any ski lift which may cause a passenger or skier to fall;

(2) cross the track of any T-bar lift, J-bar lift, platter lift or similar device or a fiber rope tow, except at a designated location;

(3) when injured while skiing or using a ski lift or, while skiing, when involved in a collision with any skier or object in which an injury results, leave the ski area before giving his name and current address to the ski area operator, or representative or employee of the ski area operator, and the location where the injury or collision occurred and the circumstances thereof; provided, however, in the event a skier fails to give the notice required by this paragraph, a court, in determining whether or not such failure constitutes a violation of the Ski Safety Act, may consider the reasonableness or feasibility of giving such notice; or

(4) use a ski lift, skiing area, slopes or trails while intoxicated or under the influence of any controlled substance.

E. No skier shall fail to wear retention straps or other ski retention devices to help prevent runaway skis.

F. Any skier upon being injured shall indicate, to the ski patrol personnel offering first aid treatment or emergency removal to a first aid room, his acceptance or rejection of such services as provided by the ski area operator. If such service is not refused or if the skier is unable to indicate his acceptance or rejection of such service, the acceptance of the service is presumed to have been accepted by the skier. Such acceptance shall not constitute a waiver of any action for negligent provision of the service by the ski patrol personnel.

History: 1978 Comp., § 24-15-10, enacted by Laws 1979, ch. 279, § 7; 1997, ch. 211, § 6.

The 1997 amendment, effective June 20, 1997, deleted the former fourth sentence of Subsection B relating to responsibilities for collisions by skiers, added Subsection C and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly, and inserted "skiing area, slopes or trails" in Paragraph D(4).

Failure of a skier to give notice of her alleged injury to the ski lift operator was not a proper ground for summary judgment for the operator, where there was no evidence that any alleged failure of the skier to comply with the provisions of this section was causally related to the loss or damage claimed by the skier. Wood v. Angel Fire Ski Corp., 1989-NMCA-021, 108 N.M. 453, 774 P.2d 447.

Doctrine of comparative negligence. — The doctrine of comparative negligence is applicable to claims brought under the Act where both the skier and the ski area operator are alleged to have breached statutory duties. Lopez v. Ski Apache Resort, 1992-NMCA-047, 114 N.M. 202, 836 P.2d 648, cert. denied, 113 N.M. 815, 833 P.2d 1181.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 27A Am. Jur. 2d Entertainment and Sports Law § 88 et seq.

Skier's liability for injuries to or death of another person, 75 A.L.R.5th 583.