Every winter, millions of families head to the mountains seeking joy, adventure, and lifelong memories. But while our children gain confidence on the slopes, and are often great skiers, a preventable danger continues to hang above them — quite literally — on the chairlift ride to the top.  They are still minors without the abilities of an adult mind in need of protection.

Like helmets and seat belts, chairlift bars being down should be standard, not optional.  Especially with minors on board.
Most of us remember a time when bike helmets seemed unnecessary, and seat belts were optional on family road trips. At first, wearing a helmet felt strange. That discomfort lasted barely a day. Now no child nor most adults step onto a mountain unprotected — it’s simply what responsible people do.  It is considered child endangerment for adult drivers to not buckle up children.  Is not requiring the bar down with minors on the lift willful child endangerment 25 to 100 feet off the ground?

We are long overdue for that same cultural shift on the lifts.  The time is now because after skiing for over 40 years, I distinctly feel it is getting worse not better when it comes to the bar down.

I ski regularly with my young teenagers, and they regularly tell me about the "bro-culture" of not putting the bar down with older strangers when they ski on their own.  My 13-year-old recently pointed out that only about half the time do adults put the bar down, even when kids are on the chair with them.  Adults are inconsistent. Kids — especially when riding alone — cannot be expected to confidently speak up to strangers and make requests.

No other environment puts minors with unknown adults without enforceable protections.
A driver would never be allowed to take children down a road without buckling them in or a special license. Yet on the mountain, a group of 10-year-olds can load a lift with no staff instruction and no requirement that the bar be lowered.

This gap isn’t theoretical — accidental falls, sudden stops, wind gusts, and medical events do happen. There are also stories of fights on lifts and unstable people pushing others off also of mechanical failures jerking the chairs (a few in which resulted in failures and deaths the safety bar would have prevented).  Safety bars dramatically reduce the risk of serious injury.

The rest of the world already understands this.
Europe, Australia, and most major ski nations mandate bar-down policies. It’s treated as a basic responsibility — not a matter of personal preference.  Vermont too.

Here in the U.S., where 51 million chairlift rides occur every year, we rely on courtesy and luck. And minors pay the price for adult complacency.

We are calling for a common-sense standard:
* Safety bars must be lowered whenever anyone under 18 is on the chair
* Resorts should support this with signage, announcements, and on-site verification
* Adults riding without minors remain free to make their own choices — just as they would in any other aspect of life

This is a simple fix with enormous potential. Helmets became normal. Seatbelts became normal. Putting the bar down can be normal, too — especially for with minors on the chairs. 

Please join us in urging ski resorts across North America to adopt mandatory bar-down policies for minors. Sign and share this petition. With collective pressure, we can ensure that the safety of children is not dependent on the decisions of strangers.

Our kids deserve every ounce of protection we can give them — on the slopes and on the lift.

No need to contribute, just sign and share please!