OUTDOORS
THE SPOKESMAN • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 A9
Mt. Bachelor offers new option to opt
out of signing standard liability waiver
BY JOE SIESS
CO Media Group
W
ith fall
beginning,
and ski season
just around the corner, Mt.
Bachelor is implementing
a new two-tiered season
pass system that will allow
passholders the option of
paying more in order to
skip signing a standard
liability waiver.
The new pricing strategy is
a response to a 2014 Oregon
Supreme Court ruling, Bagley
v. Mt. Bachelor Inc. According
to Mt. Bachelor, the ruling set a
precedent in the industry, mak-
ing it beneficial for the moun-
tain to provide passholders with
a choice between signing or not
signing a waiver.
The Oregon Supreme Court
ruled Mt. Bachelor’s liability
release was “unconscionable”
or excessively unreasonable,
prompting the mountain to
provide the two options.
The pricing system has been
implemented by other ski areas
in Oregon over the years since
the ruling, such as Mt. Hood
Meadows, but this is the first
time Mt. Bachelor has adopted
the system.
“We’ve been resisting it. We
do think it adds complication as
well as confusion into the mar-
ket,” said Johnny Sereni, direc-
tor of marketing and communi-
cations at Mt. Bachelor ski area.
Basically, the new system will
offer passholders the option of
paying a couple hundred dol-
lars more to opt out of signing
the liability waiver, but will also
provide the option of buying a
cheaper pass that requires the
signing of a standard waiver.
The difference with the new
system is that now the choice is
offered, Sereni said.
The exact cost to skip the li-
ability wavier has not been de-
cided yet, Sereni said.
“If you do sign a release of li-
Bulletin file photo
In this 2019 Bulletin file photo, a sign warns skiers and snowboarders of the dangers of tree wells and the potential of snow suffocation at the top of the Northwest Express Chair at
Mt. Bachelor ski area.
ability, it says you realize there
are risks involved in this sport,
and you accept those risks,”
Sereni said. “And I think the
important point is that no re-
lease of liability can protect Mt.
Bachelor or any recreation fa-
cility from gross negligence. If
we do something grossly wrong,
people can sue us and we will be
held accountable to that.”
Sereni said the two-tired pric-
ing system is something that
is becoming more common
throughout the recreation in-
dustry in Oregon.
“We are trying to work to-
gether with the rest of the rec-
reation community in Oregon
to get some changes whether
they be legislative or otherwise,”
Sereni said.
REDUCING LAWSUITS
Sereni said lawsuits could po-
tentially cost Mt. Bachelor hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars
to work through, and the new
system is a way of reducing the
amount of lawsuits that make it
into a courtroom.
“If someone decides not to
sign the release of liability, they
are basically withholding their
right to sue us for anything, be-
low that gross negligence point,”
Sereni said. “What that means
is for the next few years, a lot
of people who do choose that
higher price and don’t sign the
liability, may take us to court for
certain things. And what will
happen over the years is that
will set up certain precedents.”
In an email to passholders,
Mt. Bachelor president and gen-
eral manager, John McLeod, said
the change is a result of the cur-
rent legal landscape in Oregon.
“In recent years large law-
suits against outdoor recreation
providers in Oregon, including
many related to the inherent
risks of skiing, snowboarding,
and mountain biking, have
started to significantly threaten
the outdoor recreation indus-
try,” McLeod said. “In 13 out
of 14 Western states, liability
releases are legally enforceable,
helping outdoor recreation pro-
viders in those states address
dangers that are inherent to rec-
reating outdoors. Unfortunately,
outdoor recreation providers in
Oregon do not have this type of
legal protection and are being
challenged by rapidly increasing
insurance premiums and legal
costs.”
McLeod pointed out some of
the impacts of the current legal
landscape, such as the closure
of downhill mountain biking
at Mt. Hood Skibowl. He said
there will be more similar im-
pacts moving forward until the
legal landscape is changed.
“We hope you will begin to
hear more about this issue as
the outdoor recreation industry
engages in an effort to restore
legal protections for outdoor
recreation providers in Oregon
and place us on an equal footing
with our nearest neighbors and
most other states in the nation,”
McLeod added.
█
jsiess@bendbulletin.com,
541-617-7820
Redmond Cub Scouts Pack 27 hosts ‘Scout Me in’ event
Spokesman staff
Photo courtesy Redmond Cub Scouts
Redmond Cub Scouts will host a “Scout Me In” event Sept. 28.
Redmond Pack 27 is hosting
a communitywide information
event with an opportunity to
join. All youth in grades kin-
dergarten through fifth grade
are invited to join the scouting
adventure.
Cub Scouts provides a road-
map for adventure and oppor-
tunities for your family to do
fun things together.
“For our family, Cub Scouts
is a great compliment to school
and sports. Cub Scouts is a
year-round enrichment pro-
gram for our entire family,” said
Jennifer Stephens, Redmond
Pack 27 parent and leader.
ODFW closes fishing on Crooked River
and Ochoco Creek as water levels drop
Spokesman staff report
Low levels in streams and wa-
terways have prompted Oregon
Department of Fish and Wild-
life to temporarily halt fishing in
the Crooked River and Ochoco
Creek. The fishing closure is
scheduled to begin Saturday and
will last until at least Oct. 31.
This year the irrigation season
is ending several weeks earlier
than usual due to low levels in
Prineville Reservoir. These levels
forced dam regulators last week
to reduce the flow out of Bow-
man Dam to 10 cubic feet per
second. Following the reduction,
river levels diminished to dan-
gerously low levels for fish, with
the stream below Bowman Dam
now reduced to shallow pools
with very limited water flowing
into them.
Fish will concentrate in the
remaining pool habitats and face
increased competition for food
resources as well as being more
vulnerable to predators, ODFW
said in a release. Flows are ex-
pected to increase to 50 cfs in
early November.
“While the closure will help
protect fish congregating in the
limited waters available, ODFW
still anticipates a reduction
in the size of these fish popu-
lations due to the low flows,”
said ODFW fish biologist Jerry
George.
“These populations can re-
bound relatively quickly if con-
ditions improve, but that will re-
quire a lot more rain and snow
than we have been seeing in re-
cent years,” he said.
Current stream flow condi-
tions have been caused by “sev-
eral years of persistent drought,”
according to ODFW. Agricul-
ture in Crook County is another
factor, as irrigators divert water
to raise livestock and grow al-
falfa and other crops.
The exact regulation is as
follows: from Sept. 24 through
Oct. 31, fishing is closed:
• On the Crooked River from
the U.S. Highway 97 Bridge
(near Terrebonne) upstream to
Bowman Dam.
• On Ochoco Creek from
the mouth at the confluence
with the Crooked River up-
stream to Ochoco Dam.
Get great
service &
great rates.
Anyone who is interested in
Cub Scouts, has questions, or
is ready to join, is welcome to
attend our “Scout Me In” event
on Wednesday, Sept 28.
The event is Sept. 28 from
6:30-7:30p.m. at the Commu-
nity Presbyterian Church lawn,
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Scouting creates opportuni-
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to 18 to try new things, provide
service to others, build self-con-
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