Colorado Supreme Court to hear case of snowboarder hit by snowmobile at Breckenridge Ski Resort

A snowboarder who was injured by a snowmobile driver in Breckenridge is taking his case to the Colorado Supreme Court after two lower courts ruled against him.

The Summit County District Court and Colorado Court of Appeals both ruled in favor of Vail Resorts, owner of Breckenridge Ski Resort, saying the waiver that the snowboarder, John Litterer, signed releases the resort from liability. Attorneys for Litterer call the waivers "overly broad." Those attorneys cited a recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court against Crested Butte Mountain Resort, saying the court "realized the unfairness of this blanket immunity afforded by these liability waivers."

Litterer sued Vail Resorts in 2022 after the injuries he sustained in the 2020 ski season. He was snowboarding down the Wirepatch trail and turned left onto Peak 8 Road at Breckenridge, according to court documents. Peak 8 Road is approved for snowmobiles, and he collided with a resort employee riding a snowmobile on the road. An amended lawsuit later added the snowmobile driver as a co-defendant.

The district court case was dismissed last year and the Colorado Court of Appeals took the case on appeal, but ruled in favor of the resort in January 2025.

The Court of Appeals' three-judge panel unanimously ruled against Litterer, saying in a 23-page opinion that he failed to prove "extreme and outrageous conduct" or negligence on the part of the resort. The judges went on to agree with the resort and district court judge who said that when Litterer bought another Epic Pass for the 2022-23 ski season, he signed another waiver, releasing Vail Summit Resorts from any existing claims.

The judges, citing an incident report from Vail Summit Resorts, said the snowmobile driver was going 18 mph -- 7 mph slower than the posted 25 mph speed limit. Litterer later said in a deposition that he was "one second" away from impact before he saw the snowmobile, and he "had no time to make any moves" before the collision.

Attorneys for Litterer say the 2024 Colorado Supreme Court ruling against Crested Butte Mountain Resort in a negligence case regarding a woman who fell off a ski lift will help bolster their case. 

"The Miller rulings sent a seismic shockwave in Colorado ski law jurisprudence," Litterer's attorney, Joseph Bloch, said in a statement. "It allows injured skiers to get past liability waivers that ski areas have unfairly relied on for years to avoid all responsibility when their guests are badly injured as a direct result of their actions. No other industry that caters to guests, including amusement parks, white water rafting, and others, enjoys such immunity for their wrongful actions."

A spokesperson for the resort declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

It's not clear when oral arguments in the case will begin, as the Colorado Supreme Court has not yet posted its dockets beyond November.