This article contains firsthand information gathered by reporters about ski accidents in Colorado. Colorado ski areas do not report deaths. Resort representatives issue brief statements and condolences when asked by reporters about fatal accidents.
The ski resort industry’s safety strategies are anchored in personal responsibility more than transparency. The Skier’s Responsibility Code was overhauled in 2022 and outlines what rules skiers must follow on lift-served terrain. A more recent education campaign - called Ride Another Day - focuses on avoiding collisions with harrowing details of the death of 5-year-old Elise Johnson, who was killed by an out-of-control snowboarder at a community ski area in Wyoming on Christmas Eve 2010.
Ski Accident Statistics in Colorado
The Colorado Sun surveys 16 county coroners for deaths recorded at the state’s 27 operating ski areas. Last year, when the state’s ski area reported 14 million skier visits, there were at least 15 deaths on Colorado ski slopes, close to double the national average in 2023-24.
Colorado’s death rate is significantly higher than the national average, with about one fatality for every million visits. Colorado coroners reported at least 15 deaths in 2023-24 and at least 17 deaths at ski resorts in the 2022-23 ski season, more than in previous seasons but less than the historic high of 22 fatalities set in the low-snow season of 2011-12.
In the 2023-24 ski season, the association reported 35 deaths, which was below the 10-year average of 42 deaths. Of those 35 deaths, 28 were skiers and seven were snowboarders and a majority of them were riding intermediate slopes when they suffered fatal injuries. The death rate per million skier visits reached a 10-year low of 0.58 in the 2023-24 season.
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At least 13 people died after crashes or heart attacks on Colorado’s ski slopes in the 2024-25 season with at least 10 of the deaths occurring on intermediate or beginner runs. Of the three women and 10 men who died following an accident or medical event at Colorado ski areas in the 2024-25 season, eight were skiers and five were snowboarders, with ages ranging from 20 to 76. Five of the deaths were recorded days or even weeks after an accident at a ski area.
Here is a summary of the fatalities reported during the 2024-2025 ski season:
| Date | Type | Age | Resort | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 24 | Skier | 52 | Aspen Mountain | Lynn Ban fell, suffered a head injury, and required emergency surgery. She was wearing a helmet. |
| Dec. 24 | Skier | 24 | Powderhorn | Jessie Mello collided with a tree on an intermediate run and died from her injuries. She was wearing a helmet. |
| Jan. 8 | Snowboarder | 21 | Copper Mountain | Brandon Durham crashed on an intermediate run and died of complications from multiple blunt force injuries. He was not helmeted. |
| Jan. 12 | Snowboarder | 28 | Keystone | Nadia Hi fell on an intermediate ski run and died. She was wearing a helmet. |
| Jan. 26 | Snowboarder | 41 | Winter Park | Jacob Arellano was found submerged in snow off an intermediate run. |
| Feb. 2 | Skier | 60 | Telluride | Peter Hazard collapsed on an expert run and died 18 days later. |
| Feb. 14 | Snowboarder | 26 | Vail | Connor Gill was found in a rarely traveled section of the mountain after being reported missing. |
| Feb. 18 | Skier | 70 | Steamboat | Pete Van De Carr died following a crash. |
| Feb. 26 | Skier | 76 | Aspen Highlands | Clifford Hastings Johnson III died after a long fall down Highland Bowl. |
| Feb. 28 | Snowboarder | 22 | Beaver Creek | Andrew Lenz fell on the intermediate Centennial Run. |
| March 11 | Skier | 61 | Keystone | Matthew Chambers struck a light tower on the intermediate Haywood run. |
| March 18 | Skier | 20 | Winter Park | Andrew McDonald fell on the intermediate Lupin trail and struck a tree. |
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An injured skier is strapped into a toboggan stretcher before being transported down Vail ski area by the ski patrol, March 26, 2024, in Vail.
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