O'DONOGHUE v. Bear Mountain Ski Resort

Opinion

DABNEY Acting P. J.

Plaintiff Conor O’Donoghue appeals after the trial court granted summary judgment against him on his cause of action for personal injuries he suffered while skiing at Bear Mountain Ski Resort. The court granted summary judgment for defendant Bear Mountain on the basis of “primary assumption of the risk.” (See

Knight

v.

Jewett

(1992) 3 Cal.4th 296 [11 Cal.Rptr.2d 2, 834 P.2d 696].) We determine the injuries plaintiff suffered resulted from an inherent risk of the sport of skiing, and we affirm.

Facts

Plaintiff was an intermediate- to advanced-level skier. He had skied at Bear Mountain before and was familiar with the runs there. He had skied the Grizzly Trail run before. On February 24, 1991, plaintiff was skiing on Grizzly Trail, an advanced ski run, when he saw a gap between two groups of trees on his right, bordering the run. He believed the gap looked like a place to cross over to another ski run. Plaintiff skied toward the opening between the trees. Unfortunately, as he reached the treeline he realized too late that the run bordered a ravine filled with boulders. Unable to stop, plaintiff skied over the edge and fell on the rocks below, suffering severe personal injuries. Immediately after the accident, plaintiff told the ski patrol that he was “skiing fast” and that he may have been “out of control.”

Plaintiff filed an unverified complaint alleging a single cause of action for personal injury/premises liability. Plaintiff alleged that defendant Bear Mountain negligently maintained and operated the ski resort so that “by reason of [defendant’s] negligence, [plaintiff] fell into an unmarked crevice onto rocks and boulders.”

Defendant answered the complaint and moved for summary judgment on grounds that the natural forested condition of the land next to the ski run was open and obvious, that the condition of the natural forest and ravine bordering the run where plaintiff was skiing was an inherent risk of the sport of

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skiing (i.e., primary assumption of the risk), and that plaintiff entered into an enforceable contract, because of language printed on the back of his ski lift ticket, to assume all liability and risk of injury from skiing.