Government Camp, OR – The family of a snowboarder who died after striking a tree at Mt. Hood Skibowl has sued the Oregon ski area over a trail designation.

Taylur DeWulf, 17, was riding the Dog Leg trail at Skibowl one evening last winter when she lost control and struck a tree. She died on impact, according to the medical examiner who conducted an autopsy following the Jan. 27 incident.  She was last reported by two friends as having passed them at a high rate of speed.

Now DeWulf’s parents, Harry and Grettel DeWolf of Sandy, Ore., have filed a lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleging that the ski area should have labeled Dog Leg as a black diamond run instead of the intermediate designation that the trail has had for decades. They contend that had the trail been rated for expert skiers and riders, their daughter would never have been on it. They also fault a double fall line that draws riders on Dog Leg toward the trees where Taylur DeWulf was found, and say that more signage should warn riders at the beginning off the run.

Mt. Hood Skibowl and its owner, Kirk Hanna, have been named as defendants in the lawsuit.