The family of a German foreign exchange student who died three years ago in a skiing accident has sued Whitefish Mountain Resort, his host family from Columbia Falls and the company that coordinated his exchange.

On Dec. 29, 2010, Niclas Waschle, 16, was skiing off a groomed trail near the top of the Bigfoot T-bar at Whitefish Mountain Resort when he fell headfirst into a tree well. He died three days later.

Waschle’s parents, Patricia Birkhold-Waschle and Raimund Waschle, and brother Philip Waschle are plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Great Falls attorney Steven Johnson represents them.

Niclas Waschle was attending Columbia Falls High School and had been a member of the Wildcat cross-country team. He was living with Fred and Lynne Vanhorn as part of the World Experience exchange program.

The wrongful death lawsuit was first filed Dec. 23 in Flathead District Court and also was filed in U.S. District Court in Missoula on Christmas Eve.

The lawsuit accuses Whitefish Mountain Resort of gross negligence and blames the resort for Niclas Waschle’s death.  

The copy filed in U.S. District Court claims that court has jurisdiction because of Waschle’s German citizenship and the fact that Montana is the principal place of business for the main defendant.

The family is seeking compensation for their loss and medical and other expenses.

According to the complaint, Waschle was skiing alone near T-Bar 2 at Whitefish Mountain Resort when he fell into a tree well — an open pit at the base of a tree that grows deeper as the snowpack around the tree rises. He was found and extricated by two other skiers who noticed his skis sticking out of the snow. A nurse nearby performed CPR until ski patrol arrived.

Waschle died three days later at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after he was removed from life support. Doctors declared Waschle brain dead as the result of asphyxiation and suffocation.

The lawsuit alleges that the area where Waschle was skiing wasn’t restricted or blocked off and there were no warning notices posted regarding the dangers of tree wells.

The complaint argues Whitefish Mountain Resort had the duty to mitigate or eliminate the danger of tree wells near T-bar 2, and that the resort knew of the risks posed by tree wells.

The complaint notes that about 10 days after Waschle’s death, snowboarder Scott Meyer of Kalispell died after falling into a tree well in the vicinity of T-bar 2. Meyer was snowboarding alone.

“Big Mountain Ski Area has experienced several other tree well deaths in the history of the ski resort, which was a fact of which [Whitefish Mountain Resort] was on notice,” the complaint states. “Under the circumstances, [the ski resort] had the duty to mitigate, alleviate, or eliminate the danger of tree wells at or near the exit from the T-bar 2.”

In a statement released Friday, Whitefish Mountain Resort officials responded that while Waschle’s death was an emotional and tragic event, the lawsuit is groundless.

“For those of us personally involved, it was heart-breaking and unforgettable,” the statement notes. “The tragedy is unnecessarily compounded by the effort through this lawsuit, filed nearly three years after the events, to blame innocent parties, including Whitefish Mountain Resort, for the results of the known risks inherent in the sport of skiing. Tree well and deep snow immersion accidents such as this one occur in off-groomed, forested (off-piste) areas with deep, unconsolidated snow. It is not reasonable to identify a particular tree among the tens of thousands within the resort boundary that has a dangerous tree well by sight. The lawsuit is groundless. We are unfortunately forced to defend it vigorously and seek justice though our court system. This we will do.”

The complaint also alleges negligence by the Vanhorns for exposing Waschle to “unnecessary and unreasonably risky behavior such as permitting him to ski in inclement weather alone.”

The complaint alleges the Vanhorns drove to the ski resort that day for a joint ski outing with Waschle, “but despite inclement weather and an approaching storm, [they] permitted Niclas to ski alone and unsupervised in a ski area with dangers and risks with which the Vanhorns were much better acquainted than Niclas, who had not skied in Germany in comparable conditions or on comparable terrain.”

The complaint alleges that Fred Vanhorn was a ski instructor at the ski area and “should have known about the dangers of skiing alone.”

Whitefish Resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus said Vanhorn was an ambassador, not an instructor.

The lawsuit also argues World Experiences, the company that operates the international student exchange program, should be held liable for the Vanhorns’ alleged negligence.

It accuses World Experience of negligence because it did not allow Waschle to return to Germany during his stay in the United States and prohibited him from taking a laptop computer or cellphone to the host country. Those restrictions prevented Waschle’s parents from maintaining normal parental oversight, the plaintiffs claim.

Following Waschle’s death, the ski resort crafted a list of tree-well safety tips and guidelines that is posted on its website and at the end of its daily snow report.

According to the guidelines, skiers are advised to avoid deep snow and trees and to ski with a partner.

Lynne Vanhorn declined to comment on the lawsuit — she said her family hadn’t seen the complaint but had learned about it from a newspaper.

Raimund Waschle is an art teacher and artist in Germany.

The Daily Inter Lake and Hungry Horse News contributed to this story.