Wis. Stat. § 167.33 — WI Code / Chapter 167 / Section 167.33
Alpine sports.
Status: in_force

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(ac) “Affiliate” means:

1. With respect to a partnership, each partner thereof.

2. With respect to a limited liability company, each member thereof.

3. With respect to a corporation, each officer, director, principal stockholder, and controlling member thereof.

(ag) “Alpine sport” means skiing, sledding, biking, or tubing.

(ar) “Biking” means riding a bicycle within a ski area after purchasing or receiving a ticket, pass, or license from the ski area operator.

(b) “Competition” means any event authorized by a ski area operator, or by an agent of a ski area operator, that involves a comparison of skills used in one or more alpine sports. “Competition” includes training sessions for such an event.

(dm) “Freestyle terrain” means an area that includes half-pipes, terrain parks, terrain gardens, freestyle courses, or other terrain features. Freestyle terrain does not include an area groomed with natural and man-made surface variations to aid new skiers in learning to ski or natural or man-made mogul fields.

(e) “Hazard” means any man-made or natural obstacle or hazard. “Hazard” includes ridges, sharp corners, jumps, bumps, moguls, valleys, dips, cliffs, ravines, and bodies of water.

(f) “Lift” means any aerial tramway or lift, a surface lift, a tow, or a conveyor used by a ski area operator to transport participants in alpine sports at a ski area.

(g) “Participant in an alpine sport” means an individual who has a pass or ticket to engage in an alpine sport and who is engaged in an alpine sport or is walking or otherwise traveling within a ski area for purposes of engaging in the sport. “Participant in an alpine sport” also means an individual who is present at a ski area to observe others engaged in an alpine sport or who is a passenger on a lift. “Participant in an alpine sport” includes an individual that is an employee of a ski area operator when he or she is acting outside the scope of his or her employment.

(h) “Ski area” means trails, terrains, and other outdoor areas that are used by individuals engaged in alpine sports and that is administered as a single enterprise by a ski area operator.

(i) “Ski area infrastructure” means lifts and any associated components, snowmaking equipment and any associated components, and utility structures, buildings, huts, signs, lift mazes, fences, or other structures located within a ski area.

(j) “Ski area operator” means a person that owns or is responsible for operating a ski area or its affiliates. “Ski area operator” includes the employees and agents of a ski area operator.

(k) “Ski area vehicle” means a motorized vehicle used in the operation and maintenance of a ski area or used as transportation within a ski area.

(L) “Skiing” means downhill skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, cross-country skiing, ski biking, telemarking, snowshoeing, or snowboarding.

(m) “Sledding” means sliding down a prepared course on sleds, toboggans, or comparable devices. “Sledding” excludes tubing.

(n) “Snowmaking equipment” includes pipes, hoses, hydrants, snow guns, fans, wands, pumps, and any other equipment associated with making snow.

(om) “Terrain features” means man-made features that include boxes, jumps, hits, jibs, rails, rollers, half pipes, picnic tables, logs, and pipes.

(p) “Tree skiing area” means an area open to skiing, that is not groomed for skiing, and that is forested.

(q) “Tubing” means sliding down a prepared course on inflatable tubes, minibobs, or comparable devices.

(2) Conditions and risks of alpine sports. For purposes of this section, conditions and risks consist of all of the following:

(a) Changes in weather or visibility.

(b) The presence of surface or subsurface conditions, including any of the following:

1. Snow, ice, crust, slush, soft spots, holes, grooves, bare spots, mud, loose dirt, cuts, rocks, boulders, water, puddles, creeks, streams, cliffs, drop-offs, or tracks from foot traffic or ski area vehicles.

2. Forest growth or debris, including stumps, logs, or brush.

(c) Ridges, sharp corners, bumps, moguls, valleys, rollers, dips, cliffs, ravines, and double fall lines.

(d) Variations in the difficulty of terrain, surface conditions, or subsurface conditions on a single trail or terrain or among trails or terrains that are designated the same level of difficulty at the ski area or at another ski area.

(e) The risk of injury or death on trails and terrains that fall away or drop off toward hazards.

(f) The risk of collision with other participants in alpine sports, employees of a ski area operator, or ski area infrastructure.

(g) Variation in the location, construction, configuration, or steepness of trails or terrains.

(h) The greater risk of collision, injury, or death in treed areas, in areas where competitions are held, and in areas of freestyle terrain.

(3) Duties of ski area operators; signage; notice.

(a) Notice on tickets required. Except as provided in par. (am) , each ski area operator shall print on each ticket or season pass that it issues to participants in alpine sports the following warning:

(am) Exemption. A ski area operator may sell, distribute, and use tickets or season passes printed before March 2, 2016, until its stock of those tickets or passes are exhausted. A ski area operator that sells, distributes, or uses such tickets or passes shall post a notice at each location where the tickets or passes are sold, distributed, or used that informs each recipient of the ticket or pass that he or she is engaging in an alpine sport, as defined in s. 167.33 (1) (ag) , and that the definition for snow sport, as used on the ticket or pass, has been amended. The notice shall indicate that a complete copy of s. 167.33 is available for review at the main site where the ski area operator sells tickets.

(b) Signs required; generally. Each ski area operator shall post and maintain the following signs:

1. A sign that is at least 10 square feet in size at or near each of the sites where tickets to the ski area are sold, at or near each of the entrances or lift loading areas for areas that are open to alpine sports, and at or near each area open to sledding, biking, or tubing which is not served by a lift. The sign shall contain the following warning:

2. A sign that is at least 3 square feet in size at or near each of the sites where tickets to the ski area are sold that contains the words: “Helmets are recommended” or “Consider wearing a helmet.”

(c) Copies of law. Each ski area operator shall post and maintain a current copy of all of the provisions of this section at the main site where tickets to the ski area are sold and shall make a copy of it for any individual upon request.

(d) Signs required; skiing or sledding areas. In addition to the sign required under par. (b) , each ski area operator shall post and maintain a sign that is at least 10 square feet in size at or near each entrance to a loading area of a lift that serves areas open to skiing or sledding. The sign shall contain the following warning:

1. Obey all posted warnings and signs.

2. Keep off of closed trails and out of closed areas.

3. Know the range of his or her ability and engage in skiing or sledding within that ability.

4. Assess the difficulty of the trails and terrains that are open to skiing or sledding.

5. Maintain control of his or her speed and direction.

6. Be able to stop or avoid other individuals or objects.

7. Yield to other individuals engaged in skiing or sledding who are ahead or who are down the slope.

8. Not stop at a point that will result in the individual obstructing a trail or not being visible from above.

9. Yield to other individuals engaged in skiing or sledding who are uphill when starting downhill or when merging onto a trail.

10. Be able to safely board, ride, and deboard any lift serving an area open to skiing or sledding.

11. Board and deboard a lift only at designated sites.”

(e) Signs required; tubing areas. In addition to the sign required under par. (b) , each ski area operator shall post and maintain a sign that is at least 10 square feet in size at or near each entrance to a loading area of a lift that serves areas open to tubing or at or near an entrance of an area open to tubing that is not served by a lift. The sign shall contain the following warning:

1. Obey all posted warnings and signs.

2. Keep out of closed areas.