This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A group challenging the no-snowboards policy at Alta ski resort has lost another round in its legal battle.
In April, a panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of Wasatch Equality's lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban on snowboards in a 3-0 decision.
And on Monday, the 10th Circuit rejected a request by the snow sports advocacy group that either the three-judge panel or the entire court rehear its appeal of the dismissal.
Alta Ski Lifts Company, a private company, operates the 2,130-acre ski area in Little Cottonwood Canyon, which includes 1,800 acres of U.S. Forest Service land.
Wasatch Equality, snowboarders Rick Alden, Drew Hicken and Richard Varga and snowboarding pro Bjorn Leines filed suit in January 2014 against Alta and the forest service, arguing the ban has no place on public land. The boarders alleged they were being irrationally discriminated against and deserved protection under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution,
Alta and the forest service argued the Equal Protection Clause did not apply to the snowboarders' claims because the ban was not "state action." U.S. District Judge Dee Benson in Salt Lake City agreed and dismissed the suit in September 2014,
Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC