Ski Resort & owner's son v. ski patrollers. (Sunshine Village, Canada)

[Ged 0]

I would just like to draw people's attention to a story currently going viral within Canada's ski community & now gaining support from around the globe.

 

In a nutshell: it involves a case of Sunshine Village, a popular ski resort in the Canadian Rockies, whose owner had (at the time of writing) up to seven (7) key, highly trained ski patrollers/mountain saftey personnel fired for doing their job - and the subsequent lawsuit. Unfortunately for those fired, doing their job involved the reprimanding of the owner's (Ralph Scurfield) son (Taylor Scurfiled) and his other rich-kid buddies for skiing/riding in a closed area - not uncommon at any resort, but the ski resorts' attitude to mountain saftey policy has raised some serious issues.

 

The whole story: http://www.supportskipatrol.com/Sunshine_Village_Ski_Patrol_Support_Site/The_Story.html

 

-----

 

[slightly edited RedJedi, link to the story is fine. Thanks, David]

[TropicalPow 0]

 

Thanks for raising that RedJedi,

Pretty discusting treatment of there staff. When multiple long stading staff are fired ,it says more about the organisation than the staff.

I for one have sent off an email to Sunshine , an area I have skied and enjoyed.

I would encourage others to read the article and if they wish shoot of an email to Sunshine at;

 

comments@skibanff.com

[Valve Bounce 0]

This continuing debate and argument surrounding accessing closed areas in this and other threads in this forum has me intrigued. Are skiers and board riders excluded from fenced areas because of safety concerns in such areas? or are such areas fenced just for the heck of it?

[Ged 0]

I would assume each ski area makes their own policies in terms of "closed" and "out of bounds" areas.

 

On this particular occasion (as I understand it) the area the group were caught in was not closed for avalanche reasons but rather natural hazards not obviously visible during early season conditions. Still an area of danger as far as the ski patrol was concerned, but I think an area normally accessible when conditions permit.

However, regardless of location, it appears irrelevant to the Ski Patrollers/Lift Ops/Mtn Saftey personnel's reasoning - as turning a blind eye to offenders based on their connections to the ski resorts ownership defeats the purpose of their responsibility in guest wellfare.

 

The total lack of support at the highlest level at Sunshine Village left those involved to question the resorts commitment to public safety - a question now being asked by several news outlets and general public globally.

 

I totally respect the folk on the hill who put their lives, jobs and reputations on the line to watch my back so in return, I encourage as many readers as possible to now watch theirs.

 

Sadly, there appears to be many snow enthusiasts on this forum who outwardly respect area's ski patrol staff, but disregard closures & play the 'dumb gaijin' nevertheless, forever searching ways to get their lines in without getting busted for it, often with a complacent attitude to personnel responsibility to their own and friends safety.

 

I think perhaps resorts the world over could maybe do more to educate their clients on resort rules & safety.

Language-barriers (on both sides) should never be an excuse for poor communication.

 

[joshnii 2]

Originally Posted By: RedJedi

Sadly, there appears to be many snow enthusiasts on this forum who outwardly respect area's ski patrol staff, but disregard closures & play the 'dumb gaijin' nevertheless, forever searching ways to get their lines in without getting busted for it, often with a complacent attitude to personnel responsibility to their own and friends safety.

Many. Some. Not everyone. Totally gnarly dudes are often more outspoken about it. Don't paint everyone with the same voice.

[onji 0]

Originally Posted By: Valve Bounce

Are skiers and board riders excluded from fenced areas because of safety concerns in such areas? or are such areas fenced just for the heck of it?

From what I understand the ropes are there to keep skiiers/snowboarders from going into dangerous areas. Sometimes it's just to warn you if you're going into a black or double black run, but it often keeps folks out of avalanche prone areas.

But getting back on topic, it's completely irresponsible and selfish behaviour on behalf of Scurfield (both father and son).

Ski patrollers are out there to keep people safe, and some knob fires them + part of management because his son is a douchebag.

[ippy 66]

yeah, this isnt really about us little playful mischief makers (sorry ski patrol I appreciate the fact you may one day have to rescue me and put yoru own life at risk - then again i might be long dead, or may in fact live to a ripe old age of rope ducking).

 

Its about a rich asshole and his spoiled kid lording it over their fiefdom.

[Ged 0]

I stand corrected joshnii, you're absolutely right - I've perhaps just read more of one type than the other.

 

Still, back on topic, as soon as I'm back home in Banff, I'm joining the boycott at Sunshine Village until the dispute is resolved. There's another few resorts within a short drive away that are getting plenty of great snow anyway.

 

Here's hoping everyone has a continued safe, enjoyable season!

[jared 0]

Quote:

Sadly, there appears to be many snow enthusiasts on this forum who outwardly respect area's ski patrol staff, but disregard closures & play the 'dumb gaijin' nevertheless, forever searching ways to get their lines in without getting busted for it, often with a complacent attitude to personnel responsibility to their own and friends safety.

 

Many!? Name two people who meet all the criteria of your description.

 

best do it in the A Winging Poms thread so as not to get this one too far off its more important topic.

[Jynxx 4]

Originally Posted By: RedJedi

I would assume each ski area makes their own policies in terms of "closed" and "out of bounds" areas.

Aint that the truth.


The rest is just different values and moral.
example.
Stubaier, Austria. A Canadian hocky player went on his own snowboarding, fell into a crevasse, climbs out but gets ran over by a Cat, and didn´t get found. This was in a slack area.
In Austria, things are minimum roped. The understanding is that basically you know what you are doing on the mountain.
The resort have no liability. They have done their part by assigning the area that is safe and rescue will be secured.
Patrols are not there to bust people.

This rope ducking is not a moral issue. People want to think it is a safety issue, but really, it is a liability issue.
I am certain that even it is clearly stated and every individual signs a waiver for ski/board at a resort, some asshole lawyer and in-laws will take the resort for comp if an accident happen.

[rider69 18]

Hard to really debate this as the resort is handcuffed and cant say anything in their defense. I would like to hear the resorts side of the story as well before passing any judgment. Rope ducking is much different in Japan when compared to Canada. One uses a system of controls to insure safety while the other closes everything to cover liability.

[Ged 0]

Sunshine Village should be able to make appropriate comments to defend their reputation, it's taking quite the hit, and are having a PR nightmare!

However the ski resort management seem content with stealing support banners from privately owned/parked vehicles (and blatantly owning up to it!) and calling on Facebook/the social networking sites to remove the ski patrol support page.

Oh that, and alledgedly calling all the popular bars in town, asking their management to caution patrons discussing the subject!

Owner-Ralph Scurfield must idolise North Korea's propoganda techniques.

 

A side story recently surfaced of a sepearate incident involving another 2 individuals who trespassed into a closed area & trigged an avalanche.

They were sucessfully fined, but Sunshine Village saw no reason to compare the 2 cases. It really stinks! They seem to make the rules up as they go along. People are cancelling trips there because of the fear of public safety.