4-371-437 (1998). LEONARDO GUTIERREZ.

• Case Date: December 22, 1998
• Court: Colorado

Colorado Workers Compensation 1998. 4-371-437 (1998). LEONARDO GUTIERREZ INDUSTRIAL CLAIM APPEALS OFFICEIN THE MATTER OF THE CLAIM OF LEONARDO GUTIERREZ, Claimant, v. CAFE SUZANNE INC., d/b/a CAFE SUZANNE, Employer, and COLORADO COMPENSATION INSURANCE AUTHORITY, Insurer, Respondents.W. C. No. 4-371-437FINAL ORDER The claimant seeks review of an order of Administrative Law Judge Martinez (ALJ) which determined the claimant failed to prove a compensable injury, and therefore, dismissed the claim for benefits. We affirm. The claimant sustained injuries during a skiing accident after work on February 2, 1998. The respondents denied liability on grounds that the injury did not arise out of and in the course of the claimant's employment as a kitchen helper at the Cafe Suzanne (Cafe). The ALJ's pertinent findings of fact may be summarized as follows. The Cafe is located at Snowmass about half-way up the mountain. There are numerous methods of transportation available to the claimant to access the Cafe from the base of the mountain. A direct route to the Cafe does not include the Grey Wolf ski run. The claimant was injured while skiing down the Grey Wolf run. Under these circumstances the ALJ determined the claimant's injuries occurred while the claimant was engaged in the recreational activity of skiing, and not while leaving the employer's premises. Therefore, the ALJ determined the claimant's injuries did not arise out of an in the course of the claimant's employment. On review, the claimant contends that skiing is incidental to his employment, and that the injuries occurred while he was leaving work. The claimant also contends that his deviation was not substantial and did not remove him from the course and scope of his employment. We reject the claimant's arguments. Only injuries which arise out of and in the course of employment are compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act. Section 8-41-301(1)(b), C.R.S. 1998. An injury arises out of and in the course of employment if it is "sufficiently interrelated to the conditions and circumstances under which the employee usually performs his job functions that the activity may reasonably be characterized as an incident of employment." City of Boulder v. Streeb, 706 P.2d 786 (Colo. 1985); Lori's Family Dining, Inc., v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 907 P.2d 715 (Colo. App. 1995). As...