Colorado's highest court
this week ordered former lift operator Nathan Hall
to stand trial in the 1997 death of a beginner skier
on Vail Mountain.
In a case that is understood to be a test case for
many outstanding victims of crashes, clarification
of what makes a skier's actions criminal is becoming
clearer. Few skiers have been criminally prosecuted,
partly for lack of case law. But reckless skiing has
gained unprecedented national attention in recent
years, following the deaths of Sonny Bono and Michael
Kennedy, and the Colorado Supreme Court has now stepped
in by ordering Hall's trial.
Hall, who was an 18-year-old lift operator at the
time of the April 1997 incident, was released from
a felony charge of reckless manslaughter - with the
weapon being skis.
Witnesses said Hall was skiing too fast and out of
control at 4.30pm on the last day of Vail's season
in 1997 when he collided with 33-year-old Alan Cobb,
who died almost instantly from massive head wounds.
Cobb was skiing only for his fourth time.
Hall was skiing down
to sign off from his shift when he "flew off
a knoll" and struck Cobb, according to court
records. He was found with a small amount of marijuana
and beer in his backpack.
"We'll have to wait
and see what the final turn-out is," said Paul
Witt, communications director for Vail Resorts. "At
this point, it could mean anything for the industry
or it may mean nothing."
