2015 WISCONSIN ACT 168
An Act to repeal 167.33 (1) (d), 167.33 (3) (g) 1. and 167.33 (3) (g) 2.; to renumber 167.33 (1) (a); to renumber and amend 167.33 (1) (c), 167.33 (1) (o), 167.33 (3) (b) and 167.33 (3) (g) (intro.); to amend 15.347 (20) (b) 6., 167.33 (title), 167.33 (1) (b), 167.33 (1) (f), 167.33 (1) (g), 167.33 (1) (h), 167.33 (1) (L), 167.33 (1) (m), 167.33 (2) (title), 167.33 (2) (b) 1., 167.33 (2) (f), 167.33 (2) (h), 167.33 (3) (a), 167.33 (3) (f) (intro.), 167.33 (3) (f) 5., 167.33 (3) (f) 6., 167.33 (3) (h), 167.33 (3) (j) 1., 167.33 (3) (j) 2., 167.33 (4) (a), 167.33 (4) (ag), 167.33 (4) (b) 2., 167.33 (5) (title), 167.33 (5) (a) 13., 167.33 (5) (b) 11., 895.525 (2) (b), 895.526 (title), 895.526 (2) (title), 895.526 (2) (a), 895.526 (2) (b), 895.526 (2) (c), 895.526 (2) (d), 895.526 (3) (intro.), 895.526 (3) (b) and 895.526 (4) (a); and to create 167.33 (1) (ar), 167.33 (1) (dm), 167.33 (3) (am), 167.33 (3) (b) 2., 167.33 (3) (em) and 167.33 (5) (c) of the statutes; relating to: duties of ski area operators and persons who bike in a ski area, and liability of ski area operators.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
168,1
Section
1. 15.347 (20) (b) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
15.347 (20) (b) 6. Persons who engage in snow alpine sports.
168,2
Section
2. 167.33 (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (title) Snow
Alpine sports.
168,3
Section
3. 167.33 (1) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (am).
168,4
Section
4. 167.33 (1) (ar) of the statutes is created to read:
167.33 (1) (ar) "Biking" means riding a bicycle within a ski area after purchasing or receiving a ticket, pass, or license from the ski area operator.
168,5
Section
5. 167.33 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (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 snow alpine sports. "Competition" includes training sessions for such an event.
168,6
Section
6. 167.33 (1) (c) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (om) and amended to read:
167.33 (1) (om) "Freestyle
Terrain features" means man-made features that include boxes, jumps, hits, jibs, tabletops, spikes, take-off ramps, landings, banks,
rails, rollers, half pipes, picnic tables, logs, and pipes.
168,7
Section
7. 167.33 (1) (d) of the statutes is repealed.
168,8
Section
8. 167.33 (1) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:
167.33 (1) (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.
168,9
Section
9. 167.33 (1) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (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 snow alpine sports at a ski area.
168,10
Section
10. 167.33 (1) (g) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (g) "Participant in a snow an alpine sport" means an individual who has a pass or ticket to engage in an alpine sport and who is engaged in a snow
an alpine sport or who is walking or otherwise traveling within a ski area for purposes of engaging in the sport. "Participant in a snow an alpine sport" also means an individual who is present at a ski area to observe others engaged in a snow an alpine sport or who is a passenger on a lift. "Participant in a snow 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.
168,11
Section
11. 167.33 (1) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (h) "Ski area" means trails, terrains, and other outdoor areas that are used by individuals engaged in snow alpine sports and that is administered as a single enterprise by a ski area operator.
168,12
Section
12. 167.33 (1) (L) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (L) "Skiing" means downhill skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, cross-country skiing, ski biking, telemarking, snowshoeing, or snowboarding.
168,13
Section
13. 167.33 (1) (m) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (1) (m) "Sledding" means sliding down a prepared course on sleds, toboggans, ski bikes, or comparable devices. "Sledding" excludes tubing.
168,14
Section
14. 167.33 (1) (o) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (1) (ag) and amended to read:
167.33 (1) (ag) "Snow
Alpine sport" means skiing, sledding, biking, or tubing, or freestyling.
168,15
Section
15. 167.33 (2) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (2) (title) Conditions and risks of snow alpine sports.
168,16
Section
16. 167.33 (2) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (2) (b) 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.
168,17
Section
17. 167.33 (2) (f) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (2) (f) The risk of collision with other participants in snow alpine sports, employees of a ski area operator, or ski area infrastructure.
168,18
Section
18. 167.33 (2) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (2) (h) The greater risk of collision, injury, or death in treed areas, in areas where competitions are held, and in areas where freestyling is allowed of freestyle terrain.
168,19
Section
19. 167.33 (3) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (3) (a) Notice on tickets required. Each Except as provided in par. (am), each ski area operator shall print on each ticket or season pass that it issues to participants in snow alpine sports the following warning:
"WARNING: Under Wisconsin law, each participant in a snow an alpine sport assumes the risk of injury or death to person or injury to property resulting from the conditions and risks that are considered to be inherent in a snow an alpine sport, has a number of duties that must be met while engaging in a snow an alpine sport, and is subject to limitations on the ability to recover damages from a ski area operator for injuries or death to a person or to property. A complete copy of this law is available for review at the main site where tickets to this ski area are sold."
168,20
Section
20. 167.33 (3) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
167.33 (3) (am) A ski area operator may sell, distribute, and use tickets or season passes printed before the effective date of this paragraph .... [LRB inserts date], 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.
168,21
Section
21. 167.33 (3) (b) of the statutes is renumbered 167.33 (3) (b) (intro.) and amended to read:
167.33 (3) (b) Signs required; generally. (intro.) Each ski area operator shall post and maintain a sign 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 snow 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:
"WARNING — ASSUMPTION OF RISKS: Under Wisconsin law, each participant in a snow an alpine sport is considered to have accepted and to have knowledge of the risk of injury or death to person or injury to property that may result. Under Wisconsin law, each participant in a snow an alpine sport has the duty to take the precautions that are necessary to avoid injury or death to person or injury to property. Wisconsin law sets forth certain other limitations on the liability of ski area operators for injuries or death to person or injury to property. A complete copy of this law is available for review at the main site where tickets to this ski area are sold."
168,22
Section
22. 167.33 (3) (b) 2. of the statutes is created to read:
167.33 (3) (b) 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."
168,23
Section
23. 167.33 (3) (em) of the statutes is created to read:
167.33 (3) (em) Signs required; biking areas. In addition to the sign required under par. (b), each ski area operator offering biking 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 biking or at or near an entrance of an area open to biking that is not served by a lift. The sign shall contain the following warning:
"WARNING — DUTIES OF INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN BIKING: Under Wisconsin law, each individual engaged in biking has a duty to do all of the following:
1. Obey all posted warnings and signs.
2. Keep out of closed areas.
3. Know the range of his or her ability and engage in biking within that ability.
4. Assess the difficulty of the trails and terrains, including natural and man-made features, that are open to biking. Where possible, walk the trail or features prior to biking.
5. Maintain control of his or her speed and direction.
6. Comply with any posted limits that are imposed on the type of bike or other equipment that may be ridden on a trail or portion of the ski area.
7. Be able to stop or avoid other individuals or objects.
8. Yield to other individuals engaged in biking who are ahead or who are down the slope.
9. Be able to safely board, ride, and deboard any lift serving an area open to biking.
10. Board and deboard a lift only at designated sites.
11. Look uphill and yield to oncoming bikes before leaving the bottom of the hill at the end of the run or when entering a trail or slope."
168,24
Section
24. 167.33 (3) (f) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (3) (f) Signs required; trails and terrains. (intro.) Each ski area operator shall designate the trails that are open for skiing or biking in its ski area and shall determine the difficulty level of each trail. The ski area operator shall post and maintain a sign at or near the beginning of each trail. The sign shall contain the name of the trail and all of the applicable wording and emblems specified in this paragraph to describe the difficulty level of the trail or terrain. The sign shall be at least 4 square feet in size. Each sign shall contain one or more of the following designations that are applicable:
168,25
Section
25. 167.33 (3) (f) 5. of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (3) (f) 5. The words "freestyling area ahead" "freestyle terrain" with an emblem consisting of an orange oval.
168,26
Section
26. 167.33 (3) (f) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
167.33 (3) (f) 6. The words "tree skiing — caution." The sign shall have an orange background or orange lettering with a black or white background and shall contain the additional statement: "This back country trail is not groomed or patrolled — Never ski here alone."
