Timberline Lodge Announces Price Increases Caused by "Broken" Oregon Liability System

Prices at Timberline Lodge are set to increase as the resort grapples with what it calls a “broken” liability system for recreation businesses in Oregon.

The resort said in a statement on social media this week that prices for peak-time lift tickets, tier two season passes, and summer ski products will increase, but didn’t say by how much. 

The cause, according to the resort, is that its liability insurance costs have skyrocketed, a dilemma other mountains across the state have said they’re facing.

The uncertainty in Oregon’s ski resort industry revolves around a 2014 Oregon Supreme Court ruling that reduced the power of liability waivers after a snowboarder crashed in a terrain park at Mt. Bachelor and was left paralyzed from the waist down.

That decision made the documents used to ward off lawsuits at ski resorts nationwide unenforceable in Oregon.

In June, news broke that one of Oregon’s two ski resort insurers, Safehold Special Risk, was leaving the state because it was too costly to operate there. The Oregonianreported that a claims manager for the insurer called Oregon an “extreme outlier” that accounted for 50% of its losses between $1 million and $10 million. State legislation that would have bolstered liability waivers also failed in June.

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Backers of the legislation saw it as a salve to the challenge of rising insurance costs faced by ski resorts and other recreation providers in Oregon, including outfitters and gyms, while still allowing for lawsuits in cases of gross negligence.

Opponents believed it would limit recourse for the victims of accidents, setting too high of a bar for legal action.

While Timberline has secured insurance for the coming season, it said it could only do so at an “extraordinarily high cost.” The ski resort said its liability insurance premium has jumped 166% and its deductible is now ten times higher than it was last year.

“These changes create unsustainable financial pressure. We are absorbing as much of this cost as possible, but cannot shoulder all of it,” Timberline wrote. “Without long-term solutions from the State Legislature, the impacts will be unavoidable; higher costs, reduced offerings, and diminished opportunities for recreation in Oregon.”

“Dire” Situation for Oregon Ski Resorts

“I’m not surprised at all. This was entirely foreseeable,” said Pacific Northwest Ski Areas Association (PNSAA) president Jordan Elliott, of Timberline’s announcement, noting that ski resorts and recreation providers in Oregon have been warning the state legislature that this day would come.

The PNSAA, a non-profit trade association representing the interests of ski resorts across the Pacific Northwest, has been advocating for liability waiver reform in Oregon for the past decade. 

The current situation, Elliott told POWDER, is “extremely dire,” with ski resorts making long term business and capital plans while dealing with unpredictability in insurance costs, one of their biggest expenses. 

“I’m sure very tough decisions are being made going into this winter season,” he said.

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