Ski resort patrol member dies on trail

A member of the ski patrol of the Heavenly Ski Resort on the California-Nevada border was pronounced dead after being found unconscious on a trail, according to Douglas County, Nevada.

“The decedent has been identified as 36-year-old Christopher John Nicholson of South Lake Tahoe, CA. Nicholson was a member of the Heavenly Ski Patrol and had been working that day,” Douglas County said in a Facebook post.

Nicholson was found on an expert trail and, after emergency care and evaluation, was pronounced dead at the Carson Valley Medical Center, the resort said in a statement.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and Washoe County Coroner’s Office are working to identify a cause of death.

“Heavenly Mountain Resort, Heavenly Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our employee’s family and friends,” said Tom Fortune, vice president and general manager of Heavenly Mountain Resort.

This is the second death at a ski resort in the area within a week.

An avalanche at a California ski resort Friday morning killed one skier and seriously injured another, authorities said.

A male skier, 34-year-old Cole Comstock, of Blairsden, California, was killed in the avalanche near the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows ski resort near Tahoe City, California, according to the sheriff’s office. A second male skier sustained severe lower-body injuries and was taken to a local hospital, the sheriff’s office said.

The cause of the avalanche remains unknown, though further investigation is planned, the resort said.