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Skier dies after terrain park accident at Snowmass Ski Area

Makaha Park at Snowmass Ski Area, pictured here on Jan. 30, 2022, includes intermediate and advanced features like jumps and rails.
Kaya Williams
/
Aspen Public Radio
Makaha Park at Snowmass Ski Area, pictured here on Jan. 30, 2022, includes intermediate and advanced terrain park features like jumps and rails.

A skier died Thursday after an accident in Makaha Park at Snowmass Ski Area, according to Aspen Skiing Company.

The Pitkin County Coroner has identified the skier as Tyler James Updegraff, a 27-year-old man from Silverthorne. The coroner described the event in a press release as a “single skier versus snow accident.”

Snowmass Ski Patrol received the call at 2:24 p.m. yesterday reporting a crash in the landing zone of the first jump in the terrain park, according to the Skico release. Patrol responded immediately to the scene, where they found the skier unresponsive and initiated advanced life-saving measures.

Patrollers continued to take action as they transported the man to the base of the ski area, where he was pronounced dead at the Snowmass Clinic.

Updegraff was skiing with others at the time of the accident and was wearing a helmet, according to Skico.

The official cause of death is pending medical review, according to the press release from the county coroner.

“This is a tragic accident and our hearts go out to his family and friends,” Skico Vice President of communications Jeff Hanle wrote in a statement.

This is the second inbounds-skiing-related fatality of the season at Aspen Snowmass.

Earlier this month, Basalt local and Buttermilk ski instructor David Turner died from injuries sustained in a collision with a tree at Aspen Highlands several days after the accident occurred.

Kaya Williams is the Edlis Neeson Arts and Culture Reporter at Aspen Public Radio, covering the vibrant creative and cultural scene in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. She studied journalism and history at Boston University, where she also worked for WBUR, WGBH, The Boston Globe and her beloved college newspaper, The Daily Free Press. Williams joins the team after a stint at The Aspen Times, where she reported on Snowmass Village, education, mental health, food, the ski industry, arts and culture and other general assignment stories.