In article ,
Ulrich Hausmann wrote:
was just there.
Am Dienstag, den 28.02.2006, 14:25 +0000 schrieb Champ:
I'd never heard the expression "out of bounds" before I visited a US
mountain. I don't think it really has much meaning in Europe. With
the exception of areas protected for environmental reasons, you can
pretty much go where you want. Of course, you might die there, but
that's your problem.

I was really shocked when on my first visit to the US (Lake Tahoe) I
saw a rope with a notice about whatever bit of the penal code I'd be
breaking if I ducked under it.

I was once picked in the initial jury pool of a civil law suit.
The plantiff fell off a ladder and was suing the well known, in the US,
Home Depot chain. The legal climate in the US is a bit different.

BTW, can you use a few lawyers?

In the Alps (and Scandinavia as well) the freedom to go everywhere it is
due to the allmend rights (allman rights). The terrain (the mountains)
do not belong to a juridical person (a single person, a company or
whatelse) but to the comunity. So you cannot obstacle the persons to go
there. (Some exceptions for Italy and Austria).

I have seen some of those exceptions. You also leave a few other cases off.

The US is a little different. If you ski here, you are going to have to
be aware of those differences.

That's even the case if, let's say, a lift company closes the runs for
avalange danger etc. People can pass there anyway - but as you say
correctly - on their own risk.

European lifts tend not to own the land and be subject to liability.

In the US some are private land, and some are leased from public agencies.

Generally, i do not think there is so much difference between
backcountry in USA and Canada and the Alps on the other hand (we call it
ski randonnee or, in Sweden or Norway fjelltelemarking). But, i think,
the Alps have a closer infrastructure of huts, cabane ecc. And an
excellent and close emergency support.

You have mentioned the big difference: you have a big infrastructure.
Delicious. The US as a whole has a lower population density in ski
areas. We have nothing like any area with 450+ ski lifts much less
X-C and other associated winter activities. Europe has a lower tree
line. Most of your recreational skis areas have most of their
infrastructure above tree line. The US has to mostly cut a lot of
timber to make areas (people complain of altitude).

You guys have heavily cut down your forests. You have to come to the US
to see many trees with diameters much greater than a meter.

As for the mortal accidents in avalanches, i don't think there's so much
difference between the Alps and Northamerica - at least not if you put
the accidents in comparison to the people doing ski randonnee ...

Well, you would have to bring this up with the SLF in Davos.
The physics are mostly the same, save younger trees in the Alps.
You have more people doing Nordic and randonnee.
I saw many more avalanche classes (free, too, bring gear) in the Alps
and you have to pay to field work here.

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