So, just stumbled upon this story about two people skiing out of bounds at Sunshine Resort in Banff beign charged with trespassing, but just two weeks ago another person did the same thing but instead of punishing the skiers they punished the patrollers (fired them! read here) – only difference is that in one of these cases the skier who went out of bounds was related to the owners son,… can you guess which one?
As if sunshine hadn't already had a big enough mark against it, this timely news tidbit comes out to further raise the question – WTF?
No problem with punishing those that do not follow the rules but keep things consistent for god sake.
So what is the word from those close to the sunshine backcountry scene? What is the local reaction?
Read the article below to see what all the fuss is about:
(update Mar 17th: Sunshine's Lawyers have instructed us to remove the image that was on this page which contained Sunshine Ski Resorts logo and a made up logo concerning this issue which looked similar. Since we don't want any trouble we have complied and removed the image.)
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CALGARY – Two snowboarders who triggered an avalanche in a closed area of Sunshine Village Ski Resort in Banff have been fined for trespassing.
The pair had crossed two marked ropes to enter the Wild West area, closed all season due to high avalanche danger, when they triggered the slide Monday afternoon.
They were able to stay above the wall of snow and were not buried.
Banff RCMP Const. Howard Cann said Tuesday the men — Kyle William Veith, 25, of Banff, and Colin Mathew Mansell, 25, of London, Ont., have each been fined $287 for trespassing.
"The rules are there for obvious reasons," he said.
"When they close an avalanche area it is for public safety."
He said even though the two jeopardized their safety and that of others, they are lucky they were not injured.
"We could have been up there on a recovery mission," he said.
Sunshine Village spokesman Doug Firby said the incident and fines should serve as a reminder to people that actions like those will be taken seriously by authorities.
"It's important to send a message that anyone who goes into an avalanche-closed area are putting themselves in immense danger," Firby said.
"It's unfortunate given the seriousness of the offence there couldn't be a stiffer fine, but at least it is being carried out."
He said discussions are still ongoing whether the snowboarders, one who was found to be using a fake name and the other using someone else's pass, will be punished by the resort as well.
The two are scheduled to appear in Canmore, Alta., court on May 5.
