                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF WINTER SPORTS PARTICIPANTS AND CERTAIN OTHER
INDIVIDUALS (§ 8.01-227.17)

A. A winter sports participant has a duty and responsibility to:

   1. Exercise reasonable care in engaging in winter sports at the winter sports
   area, including, but not limited to, the exercise of reasonable care in:
   				a. Participating in a winter sport at a winter sports area only on
   designated trails that are not marked &#8220;closed&#8221; and refraining from
   participating in a winter sport in any portion of a winter sports area that is
   not a designated trail or is marked &#8220;closed&#8221;;
   				b. Knowing the range of his ability to participate in the winter sport in
   which he is participating and acting within the limits of that ability;
   				c. Being the sole judge of his knowledge of and ability to successfully
   negotiate any trail or passenger tramway and refraining from negotiating any
   trail or passenger tramway until obtaining sufficient knowledge and ability to
   do so;
   				d. Heeding and obeying all warnings, notices, and signs provided by an
   operator and not altering, defacing, removing, or destroying any such warning,
   notice, or sign;
   				e. Maintaining control of his speed and course at all times and
   maintaining a proper lookout so as to be able to avoid other participants and
   objects;
   				f. Staying clear of any winter sports area vehicle or infrastructure,
   other than when embarking on or disembarking from a passenger tramway or when
   present at or in a residential building or other building that is open to the
   public;
   				g. Wearing retention straps, ski brakes, or other devices to prevent
   runaway equipment;
   				h. Making a visual inspection of any winter sports area competition
   terrain and viewing any freestyle terrain the participant intends to use;
   				i. Acting in a safe manner that will avoid contributing to the injury or
   death of himself or others or the damage to property, including refraining
   from participating in a winter sport when the participant&#8217;s ability to
   do so safely is impaired by the consumption of alcohol or by the use of any
   narcotic or other drug or while under the influence of alcohol or any narcotic
   or other drug, or placing, fabricating, or shaping any object in a trail;
   				j. Embarking on a passenger tramway only with the authority of the
   operator;
   				k. Boarding or dismounting from a passenger tramway only at a designated
   area;
   				l. Acting in a manner while riding a passenger tramway that is consistent
   with posted rules and that will not interfere with the proper and safe
   operation of the passenger tramway;
   				m. Refraining from throwing or expelling any object while riding on a
   passenger tramway, and from placing an object on or about the uphill track,
   the entry area, or the exit area of any passenger tramway;
   				n. Crossing the uphill track of a passenger tramway only at designated
   locations; and
   				o. When involved in a winter sports collision or other accident involving
   another individual who the participant knows or reasonably should know is in
   need of medical or other assistance, obtaining assistance for that individual,
   notifying the proper authorities, and not leaving the scene of the collision
   or accident without giving the participant&#8217;s personal identification,
   including his name and local and permanent address, to an employee or
   representative of the operator or to someone providing assistance to the
   individual, except for the purpose of obtaining assistance for the individual,
   in which case the participant shall give his personal identification to an
   employee or representative of the operator or to someone providing assistance
   to the individual after obtaining such assistance; and

   2. When requested, provide his personal identification to an employee or
   representative of the winter sports area or operator.

B. Each passenger using a passenger tramway with the permission of an operator
shall abide by and fulfill each duty and responsibility set forth in subsection
A that is applicable to use of a passenger tramway.

C. Each participant, and each passenger using a passenger tramway with the
permission of an operator, shall be deemed as a matter of law to have seen and
understood all postings, signs, and other warnings provided by the winter sports
area operator as required by this article.

D. An operator is entitled to assume that each passenger who boards a passenger
tramway has sufficient knowledge, ability, and physical dexterity to embark
upon, disembark from, and negotiate the passenger tramway. Any passenger who is
unfamiliar with the use of a passenger tramway or who believes he does not have
sufficient knowledge to embark upon, disembark from, and negotiate a passenger
tramway shall ask the operator for instruction on such use or to provide such
knowledge. Nothing in this article shall be construed to extend liability to an
operator for injury to or death of a participant or other individual or damage
to property resulting from a passenger who is unfamiliar with the use of a
passenger tramway or believes he does not have sufficient knowledge to embark,
disembark from, or negotiate a passenger tramway and does not ask the operator
for instruction on such use or to provide such knowledge, or who does not have
the ability or physical dexterity to embark upon, disembark from, or negotiate a
passenger tramway.

E. Any individual who is not authorized by the operator to use or be present at
the winter sports area shall be deemed a trespasser.

HISTORY: 2012, c. 713.