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Legal authority of ski patrol?

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hey_dude_its_me
Posts: 1403 - Karma: 32
do they have the right to detain you? like if they say "stay here and dont move" do you have to listen?

do they have the right to get physical with you?

Ive never had any problems with them and don't anticipate any, I'm just curious.
Jul 9 2008 5:43PM
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-Tristan-
Posts: 915 - Karma: 19
I'm not 100% sure, but I wouldnt mess with them. Most legit patrol are there for a reason and usually pretty cool guys, plus everyone tends to be on their side. ie. resort, police, courts
Jul 9 2008 5:46PM
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BKlein
Posts: 1031 - Karma: 81
I dont think they have any legal authority because youre not breaking any "law"
I dont think they can get physical with you either, unless you start something of course
i think the worse they can do is pull youre pass
but i dont truly know     just a speculation
Jul 9 2008 5:46PM
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hey_dude_its_me
Posts: 1403 - Karma: 32

has anyone out there ever had a negative encounter with them that resulted in any serious repercussions beyond losing your pass?

Jul 9 2008 5:53PM
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dave44
Posts: 11052 - Karma: 113
I think if you refuse to leave the mountain after you have your pass clipped you can be charged with trespassing, not to sure about that though
Jul 9 2008 5:54PM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246

what if they tell you to stop and you run?  me and my friend were going kinda fast at copper last year and a ski patrol told us to stop, but i knew he was gonna clip our pas or something so we just ran.  can you get in any serious trouble or what?

Jul 9 2008 6:06PM
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DangerToes
Posts: 1042 - Karma: 33
they cant actually touch you, but they can follow you to the bottom of the hill or whatever and have security take care of you
Jul 9 2008 8:26PM
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constpapa
Posts: 835 - Karma: 327

Fact: They have zero legal authority

They are enforcing the mountain/resort's laws, not legal law. It's sort of like a casino, they can kick you out of their establishment but that's about it. Unless of course you refuse to leave, then they can bring in the cops.

Jul 9 2008 8:32PM
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shortdawg
Posts: 1359 - Karma: 19
I was wondering this too, good thread dude.
Jul 9 2008 8:38PM
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ginty
Posts: 1073 - Karma: 163
im sure your better off just staying somewhere they tell you to, its not like they're keeping you there over night or all day, they probably are just getting someone or somthing, your better off waiting especially if they pull your pass haha and you ever want to get it back
as for getting pyhsical unless you start somthing im sure they cant
Jul 9 2008 8:44PM
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linesalomon
Posts: 6 - Karma: 10
constpapa posted:
"Fact: They have zero legal authority

They are enforcing the mountain/resort's laws, not legal law. It's sort of like a casino, they can kick you out of their establishment but that's about it. Unless of course you refuse to leave, then they can bring in the cops."


Fact: You need to check your facts.
Most major resort towns have laws on their books regarding their nearby resorts.  This means that stuff like skiing in closed areas is actually 100% illegal.  When you leave the resort you can be ticketed/arrested.
Jul 9 2008 8:51PM
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skibikeclambake
Posts: 2346 - Karma: 27
just dont wear a tank top with a wolf on it and you should be ok. otherwise theyll try to be physical cause your way too strong
Jul 9 2008 8:55PM
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Love_Wins.
Posts: 5536 - Karma: -1
Exactly, they are employees of a private business and have zero authority beyond the "rules" of the establishment they work for.
They are like a Wal-Mart employee with limited medical training. They can tell you to leave and whatnot, but that's about it.
Jul 9 2008 8:55PM
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linesalomon
Posts: 6 - Karma: 10
Again, not true.  This may be the case for mom 'n pop podunk hills, but for major resorts,the local laws and statues have the resorts' backs.

Jul 9 2008 8:57PM
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Aring
Posts: 128 - Karma: 11
i no someone who sneeked with out buying a lift ticket and they had to pay twice the amount and got to ski right after they paied up. the people they had to pay said that sometimes they call the police for that  when people dont coroperate with them cus its tresspassing, i guess they were pretty nice about it
Jul 9 2008 9:03PM
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Santa-Cruz
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 11
i think it depends on if ur a vollentere or if u get paid ill ask my mom she was one that got paid to ski patrol
Jul 9 2008 9:04PM
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SlickRick.
Posts: 4329 - Karma: 300
they patrol a mountain. the legal right they have is to pull your pass, and ban you. thats it, and the total extent
Jul 9 2008 10:36PM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451

this reminds me of this time where some gaper wanted to fight me because of a stupid reason and a patroler came up the lift with a stick all ready to fight haha

Jul 9 2008 10:40PM
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Santa-Cruz
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 11
random but its cool but me and one of the lift operator at squaw bomb droped a lift on a pow day
Jul 9 2008 10:42PM
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HPskier
Posts: 1072 - Karma: 30
if ski patrol yells at you for going to fast and they ask you what the slow sign says, say wols, it can be quite funny
Jul 9 2008 11:04PM
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Santa-Cruz
Posts: 2236 - Karma: 11
^ or say u dont speak spanish and if they do say u speak italian and if they do say u are mute
Jul 9 2008 11:05PM
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meggers
Posts: 2094 - Karma: 70
if you ride lifts without a ticket not only can they get you for trespassing but they can get you for theft of services. if they clip your ticket, you can buy another one, but if you sneak on you can get arrested. just an fyi for people with passes who hide them when they are ducking ropes so they dont lose them....you can get arrested....just putting it out there....ive never known anyone to actually do it, but i know a ski patroller who explained it to me when a drunk guy skied into one of my kids and got his pass taken, they said if he tried to say he lost it and get a day pass he would get arrested.
Jul 9 2008 11:09PM
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ben_southworth
Posts: 1063 - Karma: 447
hahahaha, but you'll look super sick so it won't matter
Jul 9 2008 11:31PM
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Twinjibber77
Posts: 6239 - Karma: 2,355
Apparently they can get kids arrested for "trespassing" when your on a closed trail, been threatened many times but nothing ever gone threw with
Jul 9 2008 11:38PM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
word. my buddy had a lift ticket from the 23rd and we went up on the 28th, he was going to just marker it in to the 28th but fucked up. so he ended up just buying a ticket. but he left the old ticket on there still. got stopped by captain cock himself (captain al) and he was like so i see you're trying to get away with that bullshit excuse of a ticket? my buddy goes no, i have mine right here. *shows him it* and he is like oh why'd you do that then? so my buddy was like just for jokes. he starts acting like a dick and was like i could still get you for theft of services and all this bullshit. right after that a hugeeee gaper SMASHED into captain al and took him out. we peaced. it was hilarious. i can't wait to fuck with him some more this year...
Jul 9 2008 11:38PM
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Karcher
Posts: 3788 - Karma: 1,934
hahah the last day at my hill my friend jumped this rope. he ended up being in a chase with the ski patrol. the guy actually hit my friend really hard in the arm. but he still ended up getting away so it was sick
Jul 9 2008 11:45PM
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chipkalback
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 30
i believe it, the yellowjackets at copper are pretty crazy about people going even remotely fast. keystone yellowjackets can be kinda nazi's about it too sometimes when you're headed down the trail to the park

i always find it odd that they target people who are usually in control, but never say anything to the families and gapers sitting on the blind side of a knuckle in the middle of the run who you don't see until they're about 15 feet in front of you..
Jul 10 2008 12:02AM
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heFF
Posts: 5786 - Karma: 4,456
me and my friend jumped off of a moving lift at nubs nob in michigan...there was like 8 ft of pow build up in a lip we had to do it ...it was calling our fucking names but someone ratted us out and apparently it's agains michigan state law to jump off alift because it's putting other people in danger but he was way chill and let us off with just taking our lift tickets becasue we were honest and no one got hurt
Jul 10 2008 12:47AM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17
Ski patrol can detain you until police arrive.  Law enforcement will stand behind them!  I had my skis stolen at keystone, like 15 of them showed up (we saw the kid with my skis on the mountain) they detained him in a room on top of the lift until the cops got there.he tried to run, myself and a patroller tackled him, cops told us "good job" for not letting him get away.  If you break a law the police will side with the patrolers. 
Jul 10 2008 12:54AM
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Malcolm
Posts: 15951 - Karma: 9,451
im so jealous u got to tackle the asshole who stole ur skis
Jul 10 2008 12:57AM
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SickStickz
Posts: 396 - Karma: 137

Ski Patolers are generally pretty nice people.  One time I dropped one of my Sick Stickz off of the lift at Keystone and I had to duck a rope to ski down a beautiful powdery tree run to rescue my pole and when I found it under the lift a patroll woman was on the lift and started screaming at me and telling me to stay there so she could take my pass.  We were only like 3 towers up from the bottom so I told her I would be right there waiting 10 minute for her and then I skied away chuckling.  I think it all depends on the resort and how chill the people are there.

Jul 10 2008 1:05AM
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smooticus
Posts: 1798 - Karma: 27
actually no they cant kick you off the mountain. At least not at most places because most resorts are on national forest  land.  All they can do is keep you from  using there lift or there features. I actually learned this because some asshole tried to keep me and my friends from sledding into the BC and i called him out on it. Funny story actually.
Jul 10 2008 1:25AM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17

if you have a pass and you have used the lift at anytime that day they CAN kick you off the mountain.  Its national forest until you use the lifts or anything, even the restrooms.  you cant go inbounds then out of bounds. they lease the land for 99 years at a time from the natonal forest. During the time that the resort is open its theres and they are responsable for you.  So yes they can kick you off the mountain and if youdont leave they call the cops for trusspassing.

Jul 10 2008 1:35AM
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onearmwanderer
Posts: 1153 - Karma: 31
i dont really know what authority they have but  i ducked a rope once and the patroller told us he could potentially of given us a fine or jail time. might of just been trying to scare us though
Jul 10 2008 1:43AM
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Clifford996
Posts: 1288 - Karma: 28
as long as your not a dick to the ski patrol, you will never have any quarrels with them
Jul 10 2008 2:01AM
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sarahskis
Posts: 1587 - Karma: 41
It depends on the state your in.  In pennsylvania, where you can't get fined for ducking tape, the most they can do is call the cops on you if your being a huge dickhead.  They are the ones being called to enforce 'mountain safety'.  But if they tell you to stay where you're at and you run off, they're just going to come after you and the police normally bend to their will.

In colorado, its a misdemeanor to duck tape, and they have more individual rights as far as how they handle you because they aren't associated with National Ski Patrolt



I really don't know for sure though as far as what they can do. 
Jul 10 2008 10:11AM
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-Tristan-
Posts: 915 - Karma: 19
In Canada, at bigger resorts with avi terrain they have way more authority. If you ski into inbounds terrain (at least at Banff resorts) that is closed, they can and will charge you with trespassing, for good reason. That said the Lakes patrol as far as I know them are super chill, nicest guys and girls you'll ever meet.
Jul 10 2008 11:00AM
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Love_Wins.
Posts: 5536 - Karma: -1
Fail.

That has nothing to do with them being ski patrol, you could've "detained" the guy yourself until police came, it's called a citizens arrest. The guy broke a law, he stole your skis, if ski patrol tells me to stay put from the lift cause I'm skiing too fast, I am under no legal obligation to obey them because I'm not breaking any laws, there isn't technically a speed limit soooo.....yeah.
Jul 10 2008 7:19PM
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Smuffy
Posts: 4686 - Karma: 3,408
well, i just wanted to point this out, but its not ski patrols job to take peoples passes. they are first aid only. its the security or safety patrols job. however, many of the safety patrol guys are police. i dont know if they can exercise their authority on the hill or not though.
Jul 10 2008 7:47PM
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Duncan*
Posts: 1270 - Karma: 164
u can quote replys
Jul 10 2008 8:29PM
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860
Posts: 2930 - Karma: 166
Fact: You just stated that police can ticket you, had to do it sorry haha, patrollers have no legal authority what so ever, they can cut your pass and thats it. They can't hold you or do anything.
Jul 10 2008 9:30PM
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Klick_2_klaim
Posts: 3396 - Karma: 25
They have the authority to a) pull your card/ pass b) call the cops and charge you with tresspassing and whatever else you were caught doing and c) be nice, or be douches.

if a ski patrol guy physically touches you, it is assault brotha! But be aware that if you are understanding and calm, there is no reason one of these guys will bother you beyond a warning. If youre an ass, they go all ego on you and pull the IM THE KING DINGALING OF THIS HILL!! YOU WILL LISTEN TO MY AUTHORITATIVE VOICE!

Here is what I know about ski patrollers and mountain staff. They just want to shred, in their own way. But are forced to deal with a lot of crap, and by the end of december are fed up. If you get busted doing something you're probably not supposed to be doing, just fes up, apologize and everything will be fine. DO NOT under any circumstances, make a scene, be a cocksucker, or call the guy out on his job/ bullshit.

In the end, you cant outrun a motorola, so either be sneaky as! or just do the best you can to get along with the patrollers.
Jul 10 2008 9:43PM
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chipkalback
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 30
disagree. trust me 98% of the patrollers my friends and i talk to are rad and can usually tell you where theres still good snow left if its a pow day, etc., but every now and then you get one who is a complete prick because in my opinion they view us as skiers with 'snowboarder attitudes' as i've heard it. i think alot of this is super subjective as well

Jul 11 2008 1:39AM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17

I think its different in each state.  theres not a speed limit, but they can get you for skiing out of control.

Jul 11 2008 2:08AM
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FellowJibber
Posts: 476 - Karma: 12
i seriously doubt they can detain you. theyre ski patrol, not policemen. plus its not like you cant knock them out and just leave. whos gonna know?
Jul 11 2008 10:11PM
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