Wolf Creek ski area owner Davey Pitcher will pay $5,000 in fines, serve five years probation and perform 500 hours of community service for failing to obtain permits for training missions on public land.
The U.S. Forest Service initially filed charges after the March death of a veteran ski patroller buried in an avalanche. The permits are designed, in part, to protect workers, U.S. Attorney John Walsh said in a statement announcing Pitcher’s sentence Tuesday.
“In this instance, the defendant was engaged in avalanche mitigation and response training. That activity is inherently dangerous, thus amplifying the need for a permit,” said Walsh in the statement.
“Mr. Pitcher was held accountable for failing to obtain the necessary authorization before conducting the activities. Such failure in this instance led to serious consequences.”
U.S. Magistrate Judge David West sentenced Pitcher in Durango after the 52-year-old resort owner pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of conducting unpermitted helicopter-assisted search-and-rescue training missions last winter on Forest Service land beyond the boundary of the ski area.
The Forest Service began investigating Pitcher, whose family has owned the ski area since 1976, following the death of Wolf Creek ski patroller Colin Sutton.
Sutton was buried in an avalanche during a training mission with fellow patrollers near Conejos Peak, several miles from the Wolf Creek ski area.
The Forest Service investigation found Pitcher had hired a helicopter on three dates to ferry employees to remote areas in the national forest for training when he did not have a permit. Pitcher did have a temporary permit to use a helicopter to assess potential skiing locations in 2011, but the permit was not renewed.
The agency originally charged Pitcher with five misdemeanors involving a lack of permits for avalanche training and using explosives for avalanche mitigation outside his ski area boundary. Pitcher pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Pitcher in late November pleaded guilty to a permitting violation related to search-and-rescue training, with no mention of explosives. The charge was not connected to Sutton’s death.
The Forest Service’s pursuit of criminal charges against a resort owner is rare. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration in September fined Wolf Creek $14,000
related to Sutton’s death, citing a lack of communication between the patrollers and ski area headquarters. The administration in 2011 cited Wolf Creek in connection with the avalanche death of ski patrol director Scott Kay.
Pitcher and his Wolf Creek crew often train local search-and-rescue teams and direct rescue missions in the area.
In a statement, Pitcher said the court acknowledged the value of Wolf Creek’s rescue work and training programs. His 100 hours of annual community service will involve search-and-rescue training. He said he would work with the Forest Service to coordinate training programs.
“We take this very seriously and look forward to continuing this very important work with the formal approval of the appropriate agencies,” Pitcher said in the statement. “I feel it’s very important to pass on what I’ve learned and to facilitate the training for Wolf Creek ski area’s dedicated staff and assist other agencies when called upon.”
Jason Blevins: 303-954-1374, jblevins@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jasonblevins
