Colorado Ski Areas Suffer 2 Inbounds Deaths This Week

The Gold Hill area of Telluride Ski Resort. Gold Hill 1 can be seen left of center in the trail map. Telluride Ski Resort trail map.

According to the San Miguel Sheriff's Department, 49 year-old William Scott Elligot of Colorado Springs, Colorado died Wednesday after losing control on a run, ejecting out of both skis, and tumbling into a steep, treed area while skiing with his 20 year-old daughter, Elligot was skiing in the Gold Hill area on Gold HIll 1 run. 

Elligot's daughter had skied ahead of him when she pulled off onto a cat track to wait for her dad. Elligot apparently skied past her, lost control, ejected out of both skis, and tumbled into a steep wooded area where he was later found unresponsive and without a pulse. 

In an unrelated incident on the same day over at Copper Mountain, 19 year-old Nathan Rom of Arlington, Virginia died while skiing an intermediate run while on spring break with his family. According to the  Summit Daily News, Rom was skiing with a helmet when he ran into a tree on the run. Ski patrol responded immediately and took him to the clinic at the bottom of the mountain, where he was pronounced dead.  

These two incidents bring to three the total of inbounds deaths at Colorado ski areas this season. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Elligot and Rom families, and their friends, at this difficult hour.

Cover photo courtesy of Telluride Ski Resort.

About The Author

Follow

Check Out Ryan Dunfee on Google+

stash member Ryan Dunfee

Former Managing Editor at Teton Gravity Research, current Senior Contributor, current professional hippy at the Sierra Club, and avid weekend recreationalist.