Skier dies after hitting tree at Snowmass

ASPEN – A man was killed Friday at Snowmass when he struck a tree, according to Aspen Skiing Co.

The ski patrol received a call at 9:13 a.m. about an injured skier on the Coney Glade run. The 42-year-old man was unconscious and unresponsive when the patrol arrived, according to Skico. Patrollers began advanced life-support measures, which they continued as the man was taken to the base of the ski area, where he was pronounced dead.

The skier was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, according to Skico. He was at Snowmass to compete in the NASTAR National Championships taking place this weekend but was not on the course at the time of the incident.

The man’s name will not be released until his family has been notified. The Pitkin County Coroner’s Office is investigating the death. It issued a news release stating that the investigation will “take place over the next several days.”

It was the fourth snowsports-related death at the Aspen/Snowmass ski areas this season.

Snowmass ski patroller Patsy Hileman was killed Dec. 30 when she triggered an avalanche in a permanently closed area within the ski-area boundary.

Texan Caleb Moore died Jan. 31 from fatal injuries he suffered one week earlier while competing in a snowmobile event at the Winter X Games at Buttermilk.

And Natalie Egleston, 48, of Ardmore, Pa., died Feb. 4 from a traumatic brain injury when another female skier hit her on Aspen Mountain’s lower Spar Gulch.

In addition, a skier at Aspen Mountain died after suffering a cardiac event Jan. 21. Australian businessman David Coe collapsed on Aspen Mountain and later died at Aspen Valley Hospital.