All-American skier dies from head injury at Lake Tahoe resort
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- The Placer County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that 26-year-old Ellery ‘Ellie’ Curtis died from a head injury at the Palisades Tahoe resort in Olympic Valley.
- Curtis was a Dartmouth College second team All-American in the giant slalom, placing eighth at the NCAA championships in March 2022 in Park City, Utah.
A former NCAA All-American skier died in an accident on the slopes in the Greater Lake Tahoe area on Saturday, authorities said.
Ellery “Ellie” Curtis, 26, of San Francisco suffered a head injury and was pronounced dead at the Palisades Tahoe resort in Olympic Valley, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Department.
The Sheriff’s Department received a distress call at 3:45 p.m., but Curtis was already dead by the time deputies arrived, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Elise Soviar.
Sheriff’s officials did not provide any other details and directed inquiries to Palisades Tahoe.
The ski resort did not respond to questions from The Times, but said in a statement that they were “deeply saddened” by the accident and referred to Curtis as a “beloved skier.”
In March 2023, a snowboarder suffocated to death under deep snow at Heavenly Mountain Resort in Tahoe. His wife has sued the resort, claiming it made conditions more dangerous and failed to warn visitors or increase patrols.
Matt Lorelli, a senior editor for the skiing and resort digital site Powder, wrote that Curtis suffered severe injuries while descending Ahhh Chute, “a challenging trail” on Palisades’ famous KT-22 lift.
Curtis’ death is one of three fatalities that occurred in the area in the last two weeks.
On March 29, Corona resident Roman Lacayo died in a snowboarding accident at the Kirkwood Ski Resort and 7-year-old Reno resident Adelyn Grimes was killed by a falling boulder at the Diamond Peak Ski Resort at Incline Village.
While attending Dartmouth College, Curtis was a second team All-American in the giant slalom, placing eighth at the NCAA championships in March 2022 in Park City, Utah. Curtis’ father, uncle and a cousin also attended the Ivy League school.
When we asked ski resorts to share information on injuries their patrons have sustained, most didn’t even respond.
“Ellie Curtis was a hardworking, passionate and driven student athlete whose passions went beyond the snow,” her Dartmouth coaches, John C. Dwyer and Anny Jenny, said in an email. “Ellie was kind, caring and loved to be involved in many organizations and environmental projects.”
Curtis was also a three-time National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team member, meaning she earned a cumulative 3.5 grade point average and competed in one of three NCAA Regional Championships.
Curtis worked as an analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission, according to her LinkedIn profile.
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