A Bad Day in the Aspen Area...
ASPEN — Two individuals died early Wednesday afternoon in separate ski incidents — one at Aspen Highlands and one out of bounds at Snowmass.
A 30-year-old snowboarder who collided with a tree in Deep Temerity at Highlands was pronounced dead after attempts to revive him failed, according to the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office.
The man was discovered, unconscious, by another skier who notified the Ski Patrol. A patroller performed cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on the man for an unknown period of time before he was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation into the incident revealed a single snowboard track leading into a tree. It is believed the snowboarder hit that tree, continued and struck another tree. A branch from the second tree impaled the man in the left side of his chest, the Sheriff's Office said.
Release of the man's name is pending notification of his next of kin.
Authorities were notified of the Highlands incident at 1:18 p.m. At 1:45 p.m., the Sheriff's Office received a report of a injured skier who had been caught in an avalanche on Burnt Mountain, located outside the Snowmass Ski Area boundary.
The victim is a 45-year-old man whose identity is being withheld, pending notification of his family.
Bystanders at the scene dug the man out from the snow and began CPR. He was pronounced dead at about 2:50 p.m. Members of Mountain Rescue Aspen and the Snowmass Ski Patrol worked to remove the victim from the mountain, the Sheriff's Office said.
