Vermont Senate Drops Backcountry Rescue Fine Bill

In what STE sees as a win for responsible backcountry skiers, the Vermont Senate elected to take no action on a bill proposed recently to fine backcountry travelers who require rescue, which would have lumped in well meaning and prepared enthusiasts with goofballs who just "point it" having no idea where they are going. 

Resolution of the issue resides again with the groups responsible. Primarily the ski areas (specifically Killington due to a faultless topography challenge) who need to do a more creative signage job in their "hot spots" as noted in this previous STE post, and the run and gun skiers themselves who need to accept that education. - AK

From the hearing:

...Backcountry skiing enthusiasts told the committee they worried about the effect on tourism if the state made it a crime to ski out of bounds and lose one’s way.

Twenty percent of skiing and snowboarding takes place outside the boundaries of ski areas, Adam Howard of Cambridge, editor of Backcountry Magazine, told the committee. “My chief concern is seeing anything that says ‘Vermont bans backcountry skiing.’”

“If we start criminalizing what we all think is dumb, we’d have an endless avalanche of legislation,” said Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia.

Read the full article as posted in Wednesday's Rutland Herald...

And the more in depth piece on the Burlington Free Press..

Nearly every incident that inspired this legislation occured in the same spot. We should be able to educate about one spot, when we acknowledge the one spot.