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The death of Queenstown woman Anita Graf while skiing at Coronet Peak in 2019 was “foreseeable”, a court has heard.
Giving evidence at the judge-alone trial of skifield owner NZSki in the Queenstown District Court yesterday, former Tukino ski area manager Sue Graham said Graf hit a “rigid, unforgiving” woodenfence that should have been protected by some type of safety net.
Graf, 60, died on September 21 after skiing into a post of a double-height deer fence in front of a reservoir at the bottom of Sugar’s Run.
Queenstown woman Anita Graf, who died in a skiing accident at Coronet Peak in September, 2019. Photo / Supplied via Otago Daily Times
A highly experienced skier and long-time resort resident who had previously worked at the skifield as an instructor, she was skiing the final First Tracks session of the season at the time of the accident.
In her written evidence, Graham concluded the fence — consisting of posts, wire netting and protruding bolts — should have been isolated by safety netting or padding to protect mountain users.
The accident was foreseeable because the posts had previously been identified as a potential hazard, she said.
Skiers and snowboarders on Coronet Peak. Photo / Chris Hoopman, File
A year after the accident, WorkSafe charged NZSki with failing to ensure the health and safety of any person, including Graf, which exposed her to a risk of serious injury or death.
WorkSafe alleges the company should have carried out an adequate risk assessment of the fence and installed “safety catch net fencing” along its full length at the bottom of the run.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of $1.5million.
In cross-examination by NZSki counsel James Rapley KC, Graham was asked about the evidence of two eyewitnesses who said Graf was skiing “very slowly” and in a “relaxed glide” when she hit the post.
James Rapley, KC, is representing NZSki. Pool Photo / Kirk Hargreaves, File
Graham said a skier did not need to be moving fast to suffer injury from hitting a solid object.
Asked again about the eyewitnesses’ statements by WorkSafe counsel Katie Hogan, she said estimating another skier’s speed was “very subjective”.
Referring to evidence earlier in the trial about Graf’s lack of “observed evasive action” immediately before hitting the post, Graham said very little evasive action would have been possible once she had deviated from the edge of the groomed trail.
