Reply to 8 Skiers dead after accidental Avalanche in California!

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]One of the survivors in the NYT article said that he didn’t think to question the guides because he felt they were the experts and everyone just went along with the plan. Stop trying to blame the victims. [/quote]

The guides were not with them when they left their homes to go on their planned trip. Supposedly, they were experienced skiers who could read and understand weather forecasts of heavy snow and the potential for avalances.  Stop trying to blame the guides for the consequences of the women's decision to embark on such a trip.[/quote]

You're disgusting.

It's ultimately up to the guide to gauge the safety.

[/quote]

+1 The guides should have erred on the side of safety and delayed the return trip. They could have stayed in the huts another night. [/quote]

The skiers should have erred on the side of safety and stayed home. Instead, risk takers find someone else to blame for their decisions; and there are always salivating attorneys looking to sue someone.  [/quote]

I believe the legal doctrine you are referring to is assumption of risk, where you generally cannot prevail on a claim for injuries sustained in an inherently risky activity. This might apply if you are back country skiing on a guided trip and an avalanche occurred randomly or very unpredictably.

Here, I believe the avalanche danger warnings actually cut the other way, if indeed the guides were charged with decision making. Although some may speculate that these skiers should not have gone on the trip to start with, the fact that there were other safer paths they could have taken from the huts on their return trip supports that there was a safe way for them to leave. (Or the guides could have chosen to stay in the huts). A lawsuit might allege that the guides, through their actions, actually increased the risk inherent in the activity by choosing a more dangerous path. And even if the participants signed a waiver saying they can't sue, ever, no matter what, typically the courts will not let you contract away gross negligence.

The lawsuit will likely depend on whether the guides, given the information and options available, acted with reckless disregard for the safety of the group. This will be based on facts we do not fully know yet, and may include testimony of experts in the back country ski and avalanche prediction space.

My deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives on the mountain that day. [/quote]

Sadly I agree. Especially since the survivors were rescued eventually via the road leading to the huts - later that night via snow mobiles.

Clearly the correct game time decision was “stay put, eat food, wait until it’s safe to leave” even though that would have taken a few days. [/quote]

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