In this chapter,

(1) “base area lift” means a tramway that skiers ordinarily use without first using some other tramway;

(2) “conditions of ordinary visibility” means daylight or, where applicable, nighttime, in nonprecipitating weather;

(3) “inherent danger and risk of skiing” means a danger or condition that is an integral part of the sport of skiing, including changing weather conditions; snow conditions as they exist or may change, including ice, hard pack, powder, packed powder, wind pack, corn, crust, slush, cut-up snow, and machine-made snow; surface or subsurface conditions including bare spots, forest growth, rocks, stumps, streams, streambeds, and trees, or other natural objects, and collisions with natural objects; impact with lift towers, signs, posts, fences or enclosures, hydrants, water pipes, other man-made structures, and their components; variations in steepness or terrain, whether natural or as a result of slope design, snowmaking or grooming operations, including roads and catwalks or other terrain modifications; collision with other skiers; and the failure of skiers to ski within their own abilities; the term “inherent danger and risk of skiing” does not include the negligence of a ski area operator under AS 05.45.020, or acts or omissions of a ski area operator involving the use or operation of ski lifts;

(4) “injury” means property damage, personal injury, or death;

(5) “passenger” means a person who is lawfully using a tramway;

(6) “ski area” means all downhill ski slopes or trails and other places under the control of a downhill ski area operator; “ski area” does not include a cross-country ski trail;

(7) “ski area operator” means a person having operational responsibility for a downhill ski area, and includes an agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state;

(8) “skier” means an individual using a downhill ski area for the purpose of

(A) skiing;

(B) sliding downhill on snow or ice on skis, a toboggan, a sled, a tube, a ski-bob, a snowboard, or another skiing or sliding device; or

(C) using any of the facilities of a ski area, including ski slopes and trails;

(9) “ski slopes or trails” means those areas designated by a ski area operator to be used by a skier;

(10) “tramway” means a device that is a passenger tramway, aerial or surface lift, ski lift, or rope tow regulated under AS 05.20.