Vail Daily
Members of the Keystone Resort mountain safety team watch as skiers and riders descend Dercum Mountain on Nov. 6. Vail Resorts was among the ski industry groups that opposed the Ski Area Safety Plans and Accident Reporting bill, which failed to make it out of committee Thursday.
Photo by Liz Copan / Studio Copan
EAGLE A bill that would require Colorado ski areas to share safety strategies as well as statistics revealing injuries and fatalities didn’t make it out of a committee vote Thursday in Denver after hours of emotional testimony.
More than 20 supporters of the bill representing a mix of family members who have lost loved ones to skiing accidents, injured skiers, consumer safety advocates, physicians and academic experts testified in support of Senate Bill 184
Colorado Ski Deaths Transparency Bill Killed
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Colorado skier safety bill fails to make it out of committee vote
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On Christmas Eve 2020, Etthan Mañon, an eighteen-year-old from the Dominican Republic, died after a skiing accident at Echo Mountain. It took rescuers more than an hour to extricate Mañon from the trees where he d crashed, and that passage of time may well have spelled the difference between survival and losing his life.
Although everything about the incident was tragic, Mañon s death appears to have gone unreported for months, until a March 23
Colorado Sun article previewed a new bill about transparency related to ski resort accidents and safety plans. The measure will be discussed by a Colorado Legislature committee today, April 15, and Danilda Streeb, Mañon s aunt, who lives in Denver and is still reeling from her nephew s passing, supports it wholeheartedly, even as she expresses astonishment that such mandates aren t already in place.
KUNC
A bill before lawmakers this week would require Colorado ski resorts to publicly report injury and fatality statistics, a measure that’s being met with strong resistance from the ski industry and its backers. Proponents say such a law would force resorts to be more accountable for safety problems.
“The bill is a fairly straightforward approach to try and find out where there are problem areas that are causing significant safety concerns,” said Jessie Danielson, D-Jefferson County, one of the bill’s sponsors.
Senate Bill 184, titled “Ski Area Safety Plans and Accident Reporting,” is slated for a hearing on Thursday. Under it, resorts would also be required to publish safety plans that indicate what they are doing to reduce injuries and fatalities.