Please read the following guidelines and follow them as you ski or ride.
North Carolina Winter Sports Safety Act
On July 7, 2026, the North Carolina General Assembly updated and revised the North Carolina Winter Sports Safety and Accidents Act. The highlights of the law are as follows:
A skier and/or passenger shall have the following responsibilities:
- To know the range of the skier’s abilities to negotiate any ski slope or trail and to ski within the limits of such ability;
- To maintain control of the skier’s speed and course at all times when skiing and to avoid other skiers and obvious hazards and inherent risks including variations in terrain, snow, or ice conditions, bare spots and rocks, trees and other forms of forest growth or forest debris;
- To stay clear of snow grooming equipment, all vehicles, pole lines, lift towers, signs, snow making equipment, and any other equipment on the ski slopes and trails;
- To heed all posted information and other warnings and to refrain from acting in a manner which may cause or contribute to the injury of the skier or others;
- To wear retention straps, ski brakes, or other devices to prevent runaway skis or snowboards;
- Before beginning to ski from a stationary position or before entering a ski slope or trail from the side, to avoid moving skiers already on the ski slope or trail;
- To not move uphill on any passengers tramway or use any ski slope or trail while such person’s ability to do so is impaired by the consumption of alcohol or by the use of any narcotic or other drug or while such person is under the influence of alcohol or any narcotic or any drug;
- To not leave the vicinity when the skier knows or should reasonably know that they were involved in a collision with another skier before giving his or her name and current address to an employee or agent of the ski area operator, a member of the ski patrol, or the other skier or person with whom the skier collided, except to seek medical treatment for anyone injured as a result of the collision or when remaining at the scene places the skier or others at significant risk of injury. If a skier does leave the vicinity for a reason permitted by this subdivision, the skier must provide the required information to an employee or agent of the ski area operator or a member of the ski patrol as soon as practical after leaving the vicinity. If the other skier involved in the collision is unknown, the skier shall leave the personal identification required by this subdivision with the ski area operator or their employee or agent or a member of the ski patrol.
- Not to embark upon or disembark from a passenger tramway except at an area that is designated for such purpose;
- Not to throw or expel any object from a passenger tramway;
- Not to perform any action that interferes with the operation or running of a passenger tramway;
- Not to use such tramway unless the skier has the ability to use it with reasonable safety;
- To not engage willfully or negligently in any type of conduct that contributes to or causes injury to another person or that person’s properties;
- Not to embark upon a passenger tramway without the authority of the ski area operator;
- If using freestyle terrain, to know the range of the skier’s abilities to negotiate the terrain and to avoid conditions and obstacles beyond the limits of such ability that a visible inspection should have revealed.
- To not ski off or outside of the ski trail boundaries.
- To load and unload properly from a tramway, and to use any passenger restraining devices on tramways in accordance with its intended purpose, posted instructions, and any verbal instructions from the ski area operator.
- To not ski on a ski slope or ski trail that is posted as “closed” or outside of the operating hours of the ski area.
- To stay clear of snow-grooming equipment, all vehicles, lift towers, signs, and any other equipment on ski slopes and ski trails.
- To heed all posted information and other warnings, and to refrain from acting in a manner which may cause or contribute to the injury of the skier or others. Each skier is presumed to have seen and understood all information posted in accordance with this Chapter near base area lifts, at ticket kiosks, online, on the passenger tramways, and on ski areas, ski slopes, and ski trails. Under decreased visibility, the skier has a duty to locate and ascertain the meaning of all signage.
- To yield the right-of-way to the downhill skier when approaching or overtaking another skier.
- To not misuse a ski pass or season pass
- To be aware of changing weather conditions, snow conditions, and subsurface conditions, including bare spots, rocks, forest growth, snow making equipment, and other man-made structures.
- To stay clear of all snow-grooming equipment, vehicles, lift towers, and snow making equipment.
- To properly supervise children under 14 years of age.
