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Mt. Hood Skibowl bans mountain bikes after losing lawsuit

KingGrump

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The mountain will reopen in the 2024 summer season after they have completed the clear cutting of all the existing trees.
 

snwbrdr

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A Multnomah County jury awarded $11.4 million to Gabriel B. Owens this spring after the cyclist’s lawyers said he hit a rut and collided with a wooden sign installed next to the double black-diamond Cannonball bike trail on July 31, 2016, The Oreogonian/OregonLive reported.
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The ski resort should have installed collapsible markers at the trail crossing, Mandekor said during the trial, likening the trail’s condition to “a speed bump on a highway” that caused the former pro-cyclist to lose control of his bike.

It's mountain biking... it's supposed to have ruts on the trail. A proper mountain biker knows to look down the trail a bit to react accordingly to what is coming up in a few seconds continuously. He was on a double black diamond trail, so he thinks he's an expert. Maybe he should of rode on an easy fire road if he can't handle ruts on a trail. Just like skiing on a double black diamond trail, there is assumption that you are capable of safely navigating your way down the "expert" trail.

I'm curious which team he rode pro for? Pretty sure it's not a mountain biking team. Thus... Rule 55. Earn your turns. If you are riding down a mountain, you must first have ridden up the mountain. It is forbidden to employ powered transportation simply for the cheap thrill of descending. The only exception to this is if you are doing intervals on Alpe d’Huez or the Plan de Corones and you park your car up top before doing 20 repeats of the climb.

If he's expecting a smooth trail, that's what riding on the street is for. I've never seen a "collapsible marker" on a mountain bike trail before. Usually it's a wooden post dug into the ground, far from being a "collapsible marker"

But, this is America, where your stupidity is always someone else's fault. Just like the Jeep dealership suing the customer for their own technician killing another technician.
 
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Unpiste

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Thus... Rule 55. Earn your turns. If you are riding down a mountain, you must first have ridden up the mountain. It is forbidden to employ powered transportation simply for the cheap thrill of descending.
What about lift-served skiing/snowboarding?

You earn your turns by learning what you’re doing before entering terrain you have no business being on. Someone’s ability to reach terrain under their own power says nothing about their ability to handle that terrain once they’re there. Otherwise anyone fit enough to skin up a mountain wouldn’t need to worry about avalanche safety training.

Hard to judge a lawsuit without knowing the details, but certainly the outcome doesn’t seem to do anyone any good.
 

snwbrdr

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What about lift-served skiing/snowboarding?

You earn your turns by learning what you’re doing before entering terrain you have no business being on. Someone’s ability to reach terrain under their own power says nothing about their ability to handle that terrain once they’re there. Otherwise anyone fit enough to skin up a mountain wouldn’t need to worry about avalanche safety training.

Hard to judge a lawsuit without knowing the details, but certainly the outcome doesn’t seem to do anyone any good.
It's from https://www.velominati.com/

It's pretty clear. Hit a rut on an expert technical trail at high speed and hit a sign post. Lawyer claims sign post should have disintegrated on impact, protecting the rider, a so-called former professional mountain biker.

If this happened in the winter time and the pro-cyclist was on skis, and slammed into a sign post on a double black diamond trail, then people will claim that the guy should of pounded sand, that he was in way above his abilities and using the mountain assumes risk of danger and injury.\

Below has the text of the lawsuit from the lawyer defending the "Pro mountain bike rider"

And that's why I don't ride downhill. I crash enough doing cross country mountain biking.
 
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pchewn

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Really?
Only in America eh.....?
Surely Mt Hood will appeal to a higher court ?
What does this mean for all MTB in the US then ?

Plaintiff was awarded $11.xM Mt Hood Skibowl started the appeal process. Then Mt Hood Skibowl settled for $10.xM after agreeing not to pursue the appeal.
 

pchewn

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If you read the actual lawsuit and not just the news articles, you will find that:

  1. There are standards for mountain bike trails for signage safety design.
  2. Most (all?) of the OTHER signs at Mt Hood Skibowl conform to these standards. (Erected on trees, suspended above ground, off to side out of "crash zone", breakaway design, etc)
  3. The sign that he crashed into was a solid 4X4 post right next to the trail, in the "crash zone".
I am not agreeing/disagreeing with the decisions, but I think there is more to this than what you might read only in the news articles.
 

fatbob

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Let's not forget the accept/appeal decision would have been dictated by insurers and possibly the lawsuit was at the behest of the individual's insurers faced with long term bills. You basically have a crazy legal system where individuals are quite possibly not held accountable for their own decisions/actions if they have deep enough pockets to litigate.

Hell I broke my wrist the other week walking across a floor in ski boots, sure they apparently had signs (which I hadn't seen) saying "No ski boots" but to my mind that was a pretty stupid choice of polished flooring for a slopeside bar/restaurant with fairly obvious consequences. Difference was I was in France. In US - Kaching! - should have got an ambulance chaser on it.
 
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crosscountry

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You basically have a crazy legal system where individuals are quite possibly not held accountable for their own decisions/actions if they have deep enough pockets to litigate.
The "deep pocket" is the law firms! They front the expense and collect when they win. The injured just provides access to the venue (court).
 

scott43

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If you read the actual lawsuit and not just the news articles, you will find that:

  1. There are standards for mountain bike trails for signage safety design.
  2. Most (all?) of the OTHER signs at Mt Hood Skibowl conform to these standards. (Erected on trees, suspended above ground, off to side out of "crash zone", breakaway design, etc)
  3. The sign that he crashed into was a solid 4X4 post right next to the trail, in the "crash zone".
I am not agreeing/disagreeing with the decisions, but I think there is more to this than what you might read only in the news articles.
With all due respect to the legal and judicial professions, that decision is a bunch of hogwash..
 

fatbob

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I was in the jury pool for an automotive product liability case once. The plaintiff's side promptly excused everyone with a technical or medical background, including me.
and probably anyone with a reasonably intellectually demanding degree....
 

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