Helena, MontanaHelena Ski Accident
Helena Ski Accident Lawyers: Skiing, Snowboarding and Chairlift Injuries at Great Divide and Nearby Montana Ski Areas
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you were hurt skiing or snowboarding at Great Divide near Marysville, or at another ski area within reach of Helena, you may have a claim when the injury came from carelessness rather than the inherent risks of the sport. Montana ski areas owe a duty of reasonable care, and a skier who crashes into you can be responsible. Most claims have a 3-year deadline.
Key Takeaways
- A Montana ski area operator owes skiers a duty of reasonable care (§ 23-2-733, MCA), and the ski statutes cannot be read to immunize an operator from its own negligence (Mead v. M.S.B., Inc. (Mont. 1994)).
- Every skier must keep control of speed and course so as to prevent injury to others (§ 23-2-736, MCA).
- Great Divide is in Lewis and Clark County, so an injury there is generally a First Judicial District case in Helena.
Hurt on the mountain? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Which ski areas do Helena skiers use, and what are the risks?
Great Divide. Helena’s home hill sits on Mount Belmont near the old mining town of Marysville, about 22 miles west-northwest of Helena in Lewis and Clark County, reached by Highway 279 and Marysville Road. It has more than 1,600 acres of terrain, a base near 5,730 feet, and a lift system made up of double chairlifts and a handle tow (Wikipedia; Visit Montana). Because it is close to town, it is where many Helena children learn to ski, where school and family groups ski on weekends, and where after-work and night skiing draw crowds on a limited number of runs.
Other areas within a day trip. Helena skiers also travel to Showdown in the Little Belt Mountains, Discovery near Philipsburg, Bridger Bowl near Bozeman, and Big Sky. The same Montana statutes apply at each one, but where the injury happened decides which county court hears the case.
Common injury patterns we see:
- Chairlift loading and unloading. Double chairs load two people at a time, often a parent and child. Falls at loading, a chair that strikes a skier, lift attendants who do not slow or stop the lift for a small child, and falls from the chair can all raise questions about operation and training. The operator must construct, operate, maintain and repair its lifts in accordance with current standards (§ 23-2-734, MCA).
- Skier and snowboarder collisions where runs merge and near the base area, especially on crowded weekends and at night.
- Grooming machines and snowmobiles. Operators must equip grooming vehicles with flashing or rotating lights whenever they are working or moving in the ski area. A collision with equipment that was not clearly visible or plainly marked is outside the statutory list of inherent risks (§ 23-2-702(2); § 23-2-733).
- Terrain park features that are poorly built or maintained, and hazards the operator itself created.
- The drive. Marysville Road and mountain highways are winter roads. A crash on the way to or from the hill is an auto claim; see our Helena car accident page.
What happens after a ski accident near Helena?
Ski patrol and the incident report. Ski patrol will usually respond, give first aid and fill out an incident report. Ask that the report record the names of anyone who hit you and of witnesses. A skier involved in a collision may not leave without giving identification (§ 23-2-736).
Medical care. Serious injuries from Great Divide are usually taken down the mountain and to St. Peter’s Health in Helena, which DPHHS designates a State Area Trauma Hospital. The most severe head and spinal injuries may be transferred to a higher-level trauma center. Keep every record.
Preserve evidence. Keep your helmet, skis or board, bindings, lift ticket or season pass, and any rental or lesson paperwork. Photograph the scene, including signs or missing signs, the lift, and the snow conditions. Ski-area records, including lift maintenance logs, operator training records and grooming schedules, should be requested in writing right away.
Where the case goes. An injury at Great Divide is in Lewis and Clark County, so a lawsuit would generally be filed in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, 228 Broadway (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA). A case against an out-of-state skier or company may be removed to the federal Helena Division at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2). An injury at a ski area in another county is generally filed there or where a defendant lives (§ 25-2-122, MCA).
Montana law that applies
In brief: skiers accept legal responsibility for injuries that result from the inherent dangers and risks of skiing, which the statute lists, including changing snow and weather, trees and rocks, terrain variations, collisions with other skiers, and plainly marked equipment (§ 23-2-702(2), MCA). Snowboarders are covered by the same rules. But an operator’s duty of reasonable care is not limited to the statute’s list (Mead), and the Montana Supreme Court struck down an earlier version of the law that barred claims regardless of the operator’s negligence (Brewer v. Ski-Lift, Inc. (1988)). The Court’s most recent decision, Mullee v. Winter Sports, Inc., 2025 MT 113, shows the limits: it held a resort had no duty to fence a streambed below a beginner trail (opinion). Whether a lift-ticket or season-pass release is enforceable is unsettled, because the general recreation-release statute does not apply to skiing (§ 27-1-754, MCA). Most claims must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204). The statewide Montana ski accident lawyer page covers each duty in detail.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?
Ski cases are decided by the difference between an inherent risk and a failure of care, and that difference is proven with the ski area’s own records and witnesses gathered in the first days. We are based in Great Falls, handle cases statewide, and our attorneys travel to Helena and to the mountain for inspections, depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Helena office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We know appellate law. Ski cases often turn on how the Montana Supreme Court has read the statutes. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977, and the Court reinstated our client’s $168,500 verdict in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137.
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves.
We also handle brain injury cases in Helena, spinal cord injury cases in Helena and other Helena personal injury cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue Great Divide for a ski injury? Only if the injury came from the operator’s failure to use reasonable care, such as a lift malfunction or an unmarked machine, rather than an inherent risk of skiing (§§ 23-2-702, 23-2-733, MCA).
My child fell while loading a chairlift near Helena. Is that an inherent risk? Not necessarily. The operator must operate and maintain lifts in accordance with current standards (§ 23-2-734, MCA), and how attendants handled the loading matters. Get the incident report and witness names.
A snowboarder hit me at Great Divide and left. What can I do? Report it to ski patrol right away. Skiers must not leave a collision without identifying themselves (§ 23-2-736, MCA), and the at-fault rider’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may cover the claim.
Where would a Great Divide injury lawsuit be filed? Generally in the First Judicial District Court in Helena, because the ski area is in Lewis and Clark County.
Does my season pass waiver stop me from suing? Not necessarily. Montana’s general recreation-release statute does not apply to skiing (§ 27-1-754, MCA), and enforceability of ski releases is unsettled.
Talk to a Helena Ski Accident Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Sources: § 23-2-702, MCA · § 23-2-733 · § 23-2-734 · § 23-2-736 · § 27-1-754 · § 27-2-204 · § 25-2-122 · § 3-5-101, MCA · Brewer v. Ski-Lift, Inc. (1988) · Mead v. M.S.B., Inc. (1994) · Mullee v. Winter Sports, Inc., 2025 MT 113 · Great Divide (Wikipedia) · D. Mont. L.R. 1.2
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
