Breckenridge Ski Resort, CO confirmed yesterday that there have been two incidents that have resulted in fatalities at the ski area over the past three weeks, reports Summit Daily.
On January 20th a 45-year-old woman from Leesburg, Virginia, was involved in a ‘serious incident’ according to the resort. The woman has since been identified as Shirley V. Louangamath, originally from Vientiane, Laos. Ski Patrol responded to an incident on an intermediate run on Peak 8. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital but later died. The death was ruled accidental and was caused by traumatic heart failure due to blunt force trauma, according to the Summit County Coroner’s Office.
Another fatality occurred on the mountain February 7th involving a 56-year-old Texas man, later identified as Stephen William Piche. The man was located unconscious and not breathing at the bottom of an ungroomed expert trail on Peak 9. He was discovered just before 4 pm Friday covered under snow in a creek bed. He was transported to the Breckenridge Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The manner of Piche’s death was natural, and it was caused by an acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack, according to the Coroner’s Office.
“Breckenridge Ski Resort, ski patrol, and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guests’ family and friends,” John Buhler, vice president, and chief operating officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort, said in a statement.
