Skier killed on Thursday ID’d

A lift operator killed Thursday while skiing the Cirque Headwall on Snowmass has been identified as Jeffrey Beadle, formerly of Centralia, Ill.

A resident of Snowmass Village, according to his Facebook page, Beadle, 47, died of multiple chest injuries, said a statement from the Pitkin County Coroner’s Office. It is still unknown how the ski accident occurred, however.

“It was unwitnessed,” Pitkin County Coroner Steve Ayers said Friday. “He was found by skiers passing by already unconscious, and they started CPR.”

A statement from Aspen Skiing Co., released before Beadle was identified, said Snowmass ski patrol was contacted at 1:50 p.m. Thursday by another skier. Beadle was not working at the time of the accident.

“The man was unconscious and unresponsive when patrol arrived at the scene,” the statement from Skico said. “They began advanced life-saving procedures and continued their efforts as he was transported to a waiting ambulance. The man was a skier and was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.”

Beadle had friends in the area but no family members, Ayers said. His family had been notified as of late Friday afternoon.

Beadle’s death is the third skiing-related fatality in less than three weeks on Snowmass. It is the fourth in-bounds fatality on a Skico-operated mountain this season. The other three deaths all involved collisions with trees.