Conn. Gen. Stat. § 29-211 (2026)

In the operation of a passenger tramway or ski area, each operator shall have the obligation to perform certain duties including, but not limited to: (1) Conspicuously marking all trail maintenance vehicles and furnishing the vehicles with flashing or rotating lights which shall be operated whenever the vehicles are working or moving within the skiing area; (2) conspicuously marking the entrance to each trail or slope with a symbol, adopted or approved by the National Ski Areas Association, which identifies the relative degree of difficulty of such trail or slope or warns that such trail or slope is closed; (3) ensuring that any lift tower that is located on a trail or slope is padded or otherwise protected; (4) maintaining one or more trail boards, at prominent locations within the ski area, displaying such area's network of ski trails and slopes, designating each trail or slope in the same manner as provided in subdivision (2) of this section and notifying each skier that the wearing of ski retention straps or other devices used to prevent runaway skis is required by section 29-213; (5) in the event maintenance personnel or equipment are being employed on any trail or slope during the hours at which such trail or slope is open to the public, conspicuously posting notice thereof at the entrance to such trail or slope; (6) conspicuously marking trail or slope intersections; (7) ensuring that passenger tramways, as defined in subparagraph (D) of subdivision (1) of section 29-201, are equipped with restraint devices; (8) at the entrance of a passenger tramway, as defined in subparagraph (D) of subdivision (1) of section 29-201, conspicuously posting instructions regarding the proper use of a restraint device on such passenger tramway and notice that the use of a restraint device on such passenger tramway is required by section 29-213; and (9) ensuring that any hydrant, snow-making equipment and pipes that are located within the borders of a designated slope, trail or area that is approved and open for skiing by the operator and regularly groomed as part of the operator's normal maintenance activities are padded or marked by portable fencing or a similar device.

(P.A. 79-629, S. 2; P.A. 05-78, S. 1; P.A. 14-72, S. 2.)

History: Sec. 19-418k transferred to Sec. 29-211 in 1983; P.A. 05-78 replaced “marking all lift towers within the confines of any trail or slope” with “marking any lift tower that is located on a trail or slope and is not readily visible” in Subdiv. (4) and made technical changes in Subdivs. (5) and (6); P.A. 14-72 deleted former Subdiv. (2) re conspicuously marking location of snow-making device on a trail or slope, redesignated existing Subdivs. (3) to (7) as Subdivs. (2) to (6), amended redesignated Subdiv. (3) to replace provision re conspicuously marking lift tower that is not readily visible with provision re ensuring lift tower is padded or otherwise protected, amended redesignated Subdiv. (4) to replace reference to this section, Sec. 29-201 and Secs. 29-212 to 29-213 with reference to Sec. 29-213, added new Subdiv. (7) re equipping certain passenger tramways with restraint devices, added Subdiv. (8) re posting instructions and notice re proper use of restraint device at entrance of certain passenger tramways, and added Subdiv. (9) re padding or marking hydrant, snow-making equipment and pipes.

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Sec. 29-212. (Formerly Sec. 19-418l). Assumption of risk of injury caused by hazards inherent in the sport of skiing. (a) For the purposes of this section:

(1) “Skier” includes any person who is using a ski area for the purpose of skiing or who is on the skiable terrain of a ski area as a spectator or otherwise, but does not include (A) any person using a snow tube provided by a ski area operator, and (B) any person who is a spectator while in a designated spectator area during any event;

(2) “Skiing” means sliding downhill or jumping on snow or ice using skis, a snowboard, snow blades, a snowbike, a sit-ski or any other device that is controllable by its edges on snow or ice or is for the purpose of utilizing any skiable terrain, but does not include snow tubing operations provided by a ski area operator; and

(3) “Ski area operator” means a person who owns or controls the operation of a ski area and such person's agents and employees.

(b) Each skier shall assume the risk of and legal responsibility for any injury to his or her person or property caused by the hazards inherent in the sport of skiing. Such hazards include, but are not limited to: (1) Variations in the terrain of the trail or slope which is marked in accordance with subdivision (2) of section 29-211 or variations in surface or subsurface snow or ice conditions, except that no skier assumes the risk of variations which are caused by the ski area operator unless such variations are caused by snow making, snow grooming or rescue operations; (2) bare spots which do not require the closing of the trail or slope; (3) conspicuously placed or, if not so placed, conspicuously marked lift towers; (4) trees or other objects not within the confines of the trail or slope; (5) loading, unloading or otherwise using a passenger tramway without prior knowledge of proper loading and unloading procedures or without reading instructions concerning loading and unloading posted at the base of such passenger tramway or without asking for such instructions; and (6) collisions with any other person by any skier while skiing, except that collisions with on-duty employees of the ski area operator who are skiing and are within the scope of their employment at the time of the collision shall not be a hazard inherent in the sport of skiing.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply in any case in which it is determined that a claimant's injury was not caused by a hazard inherent in the sport of skiing.

(P.A. 79-629, S. 3; P.A. 05-78, S. 2; P.A. 14-72, S. 4.)

History: Sec. 19-418l transferred to Sec. 29-212 in 1983; P.A. 05-78 added Subsec. (a) defining “skier”, “skiing” and “ski area operator”, designated existing provisions as Subsec. (b) and amended same by making technical changes, replacing “arising out of the hazards” with “caused by the hazards”, deleting provision re proximate cause of injury, adding “conspicuously placed, or, if not so placed,” in Subdiv. (3), replacing “boarding” with “loading, unloading or otherwise using” in Subdiv. (5) and adding exception re collisions with on-duty employees of ski area operator in Subdiv. (6), and added Subsec. (c) re exception when determined that claimant's injury was not caused by hazard inherent in sport of skiing; P.A. 14-72 amended Subsec (b)(1) by replacing reference to Sec. 29-211(3) with reference to Sec. 29-211(2).

Phrase “operation of the ski area by the ski area operator” includes not merely the duties enumerated in Sec. 29-211 but also those services offered by a ski area operator as components of its business activities, regardless of whether the services are statutorily or otherwise required; plaintiff may maintain action against ski area operator for injury suffered from collision with employee of operator because negligence of an employee or agent of a ski area operator is not an inherent hazard of the sport of skiing. 269 C. 672.

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