Alicyn Mitcham, 17, Killed at Winter Park, Fifth Colorado Ski Death This Season

Update: The person who died after crashing into a tree while skiing at Winter Park Resort yesterday, February 15, has been identified as Alicyn Mitcham, a seventeen-year-old from Colmesneil, Texas.

She is the fifth person to die at a Colorado ski area this season. See our previous report below.

Authorities with the Grand County coroner's office say that Mitcham was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, which took place at around 12:30 p.m. on the 15th on the Forget-Me-Not run at Winter Park.

Mitcham was active on social media. The message atop her Twitter account at this writing reads, "I am blessed beyond measure."

Many of those memorializing Mitcham were her softball teammates; Mitcham played catcher.

Here's a sampling of the heartfelt messages.

The girl behind every pitch. The game won't be the same without you, but I promise we wont forget that infectious smile & carry it with us.

Your beautiful soul and amazing personality will be missed sweet girl. So glad I had the opportunity to play ball with you.

Please keep the Mitcham family in your prayers! You will forever be missed.

Glad I got the chance to play ball w such an amazing player w such a outgoing talent & attitude. She always knew how to make you smile.

My heart is absolutely broken. God knows I have one beautiful guardian angel. I love you sweet girl, you were a blessing to know.

RIP sweet angel.. I can't believe you're gone. You have a special place in heaven now & I can't wait to see you again one day. I love you.

My heart is heavy. One of my best friends gained her wings today. She was beautiful soul & without her the world shines a little less bright.

Continue for our previous coverage.

Original post, 5:42 a.m.: The fifth death at a Colorado ski resort this season took place yesterday afternoon, February 15, at Winter Park. The thus-far-unidentified victim was a seventeen-year-old girl.

The latest fatality takes place only days after the death of Ricardo Cohen, a 26-year-old from Mexico. Cohen died at Breckenridge, as have two others this season.

The death at Winter Park marks the first person to die skiing there since December 2013. The victim in that incident was Sean Teater, a nineteen-year-old from Fort Collins.

As we've reported, the first skier death of this season took place at Breckenridge on December 19, 2016. The victim was Kevin Pitts, a 48-year-old Longmont resident who worked in marketing for Oracle.

Pitts hit a tree on Breckenridge's Alpine Alley run, not far from Peak 8's Imperial Express SuperChair, shortly after 1 p.m. on the 19th.

Although he was wearing a helmet, Pitts sustained a fatal blunt-force-trauma injury. He was pronounced dead at 1:42 p.m. at the Breckenridge Medical Center.

The next tragedy at Breckenridge began unfolding on Thursday, January 12, when Sean Haberthier, a 47-year-old from Denver, was reported missing. The following day, he was found on Lower Boneyard, an expert run at Breck, not far from the Peak 8 lift.

Haberthier was alive when he was located, but he didn't respond to medical treatment and was pronounced dead later on the morning of January 13. He's said to have suffered a severe skull fracture after crashing into trees. He wasn't wearing a helmet.

Cohen died on Friday, February 10, also at Breckenridge, on Volunteer, an expert run off the resort's renowned Peak 9. Cohen was wearing a helmet, but he didn't crash into trees, as is all too common in such fatalities. Instead, the Summit County coroner's office has determined that he simply slammed his head too hard into the snow.


The season has also seen a resort death that wasn't skiing-related.

On December 29, 2016, San Antonio mom Kelly Huber, age forty, fell to her death from Granby Ranch's Quick Draw Express ski lift.

A subsequent analysis revealed that "issues within the chairlift's electrical drive/control system...contributed to a rare dynamic event" that led to the tragedy, in which Huber's two daughters, ages nine and twelve, were also injured.

The latest tragedy reportedly happened around 12:30 p.m. yesterday on the Forget-Me-Not run, in the territory known as Parsenn Bowl. Here's a video of the area.


The teen struck a tree; no word yet about whether or not she was wearing a helmet. Shortly thereafter, according to Sky High News, the Winter Park Ski Patrol rushed her to a medical facility on site, but she didn't respond to treatment.

The coroner's office will release the victim's identity and the cause of death.

A Winter Park release reads in part, "Winter Park Resort extends its deepest condolences to the woman’s family in the wake of this tragic accident."

Last season, nine people died at Colorado resorts out of an estimated 39 ski-area deaths nationwide. With the fatality at Winter Park, Colorado is already more than halfway to its previous total.