The skier who passed away at Breckenridge Ski Resort on Monday has been identified as 71-year-old William Hass of Northbrook, Illinois, according to Summit County Coroner Regan Wood.
At about 1:04 p.m. on Monday, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a male skier, later identified as Hass, found unconscious on a ski run at the resort. Hass was transported to Breckenridge Medical Center at the base of Peak 9, where he was later pronounced dead. Wood said that the manner of death was natural, though the official cause of death is pending until the coroner’s office completes an autopsy.
Hass’ death represents the fourth fatality to take place on the ski slopes in Summit County this season, and the third to succumb to a medical incident that didn’t include a collision. On Dec. 16, 21-year-old Daniel Giger of Newport Beach, Califoria — a University of Colorado Boulder student — was pronounced deceased at St. Anthony Summit Medical Center after colliding with a tree at Breckenridge Resort. On Dec. 22, 52-year-old Daniel Mares, a native of Nebraska and resident of Arvada, died following a cardiac event at Keystone Resort. On Christmas Day, 66-year-old Durwood Marshall, a New York transplant living in Silverthorne, also passed away after suffering a cardiac event.
Along with the four deaths in Summit County, there have been at least three other skiing fatalities this season. In late November, 44-year-old Bindu Pomeroy was killed snowboarding after landing headfirst jumping off a cliff in Vail’s backcountry. On Dec. 10, 26-year-old Bill Brockmueller passed away at the Foothills Hospital in Boulder, days after hitting a tree at Eldora Mountain Resort on Dec. 4. Earlier this week, 40-year-old Peter Marshall of Longmont was killed after his was group caught in an avalanche while taking part in an avalanche safety course near Red Mountain Pass in Ouray, according to The Durango Herald.