STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
The Blaine County Coroner’s Office is awaiting lab and/or autopsy results to determine the cause of death of a skier on Bald Mountain.
The 71-year-old man from Massachusetts died Sunday afternoon on Bald Mountain.
The Sun Valley Ski Patrol received a report at 2:15 p.m. of an adult man down in the vicinity of Christmas Lane. Christmas Lane is a cat track that ferries skiers and boarders to the Christmas lift and Roundhouse Restaurant after descending Christmas Ridge and the off-piste Christmas Bowl, Ridge South Slopes and Wolverton.
Patrol began resuscitation efforts before transporting the man off the mountain. He was taken to nearby St. Luke’s Wood River where he was pronounced dead.
Blaine County Coroner Russ Mikel said it appeared the man had a ski accident, possibly hitting a pole or tree or falling and hitting his head. He didn’t show external injuries.
Mikel said it’s possible the pathologist’s lab tests might reveal something in a couple days. Otherwise, it might take four or five weeks to determine the cause of death through an autopsy.
Sunday was Ski for Air Service Day, with discounted $64 tickets offered to help the nearby Friedman Memorial Airport (SUN) recruit and retain a robust air service that includes direct flights from Phoenix and Chicago. There were also three or four out-of-state ski groups from on the mountain that day.
It was a bluebird day with cloudless royal blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
Sun Valley Resort staged a day-long Ski Safety Day two weeks earlier in which skiers and snowboarders had an opportunity to win prizes by reciting tenets of the Skier Responsibility Code, which includes such admonitions as “Always stay in control” and Avoid people ahead or downhill, who have the right of way.”
Among those taking part were the founders of The Snow Angel Foundation, whose motto is “Live to Ski Another Day.”
Chauncy and Kelli Johnson launched their “Ride Another Day” safety campaign in 2023 after an out-of-control 23-year-old snowboarder riding an estimated 50 miles per hour collided with Kelli and her 5-year-old daughter Elise. Kelli sustained life-altering injuries, including severe Traumatic Brain Injury, and both Elise and the snowboarder died.
“She was 5. He was doing 50,” Johnson said.