Second Ski Season Fatality in Colorado
Alex Singer, 22, a senior at University of Colorado at Boulder became the second ski fatality of the season last week. He was found dead Wednesday at the Wolf Creek Ski Area in southwest Colorado.
Singer, who was on an ungroomed trail, died of suffocation and hypothermia after falling into a tree well, the column of shallow snow that forms at the base of a tree, Mineral County (Colo.) Coroner Charles Downing said.
Another skier saw skis sticking out of the snow Wednesday and Singer buried head first in the tree well. Singer most likely fell Tuesday, after buying a half-day pass for Wolf Creek, which saw more than 4 feet of new snow fall last week. His brother said that by falling into a tree well surrounded by powder snow, Singer would have had a hard time pulling himself up.