The Denver Post reports that the wife of a 28-year-old man killed in an avalanche inside the Winter Park ski area on January 22nd has filed a lawsuit against the ski area’s operator, Intrawest.
The lawsuit filed by the widow of Christopher Norris alleges that the ski area failed to “close the area within its boundary which it knew or should have known posed an avalanche hazard to skiers.” Michael Burg, Norris’ widow’s attorney, said, “It is up to the people who are running the ski area to either rope off the area or make sure it’s safe…This is gross negligence.”
A Colorado Avalanche Information Center report said that Norris was “fully buried two to three feet deep”, but that the avalanche that buried him was “a small avalanche.”
The Denver Post noted that Burg said “if the lawsuit against Intrawest fails, he intends to push for either a petition or legislation that challenges the Ski Safety Act’s limitation of liability.”
Intrawest is declining comment, saying company policy does not allow speaking about pending litigation.
