Glaz is officially the fourth person to die at a ski area in the state this season, although there have been other skiing casualties that aren't included in the count. Details and videos below.
According to a news release, the Summit County Corner was paged about an accident at Keystone shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday, February 8. The victim, identified as Glaz, was wearing a helmet. Nevertheless, he died from injuries resulting from striking a tree on a trail called Porcupine. The coroner says the circumstances and manner of death are consistent with an accident.
Porcupine is an intermediate run, and a video of the it uploaded by Keystone a little over two weeks prior to the incident that took Glaz's life (see it below) emphasizes its width and smoothness. Visually, it doesn't appear to be one of Colorado's, or even Keystone's, most challenging -- although, as we know, serious accidents can take place on any slope at any time. No information beyond Glaz's name, age and residence in New Mexico was shared by the Summit County coroner. However, we've been able to confirm that he was assigned to Hollomon Air Force base, in the New Mexico community of Alamogordo. In addition, we discovered a holiday video he made for folks back home when he was stationed in Japan. You can also see that clip here.That Glaz's accident took place in-bounds at Keystone is significant when it comes to calculating the total number of deaths at Colorado ski areas. As we've reported, Colorado Ski Country USA will only include an individual in overall death statistics if he or she perished in public portions of the ski area. That explains why the deaths of ski patrol member Patsy Hileman and outdoor enthusiast James Lindenblatt aren't part of the current roster. Hileman died while skiing out of bounds, while Lindenblatt wasn't at a ski area at all; rather, he was skiing in the backcountry and was swept under by an avalanche.
Continue for more about the tragic passing of Arthur Glaz, including two videos. Likewise, even those who pass away at a resort must be skiing to be counted. Hence, the death of Kansas' Stuart Brownlee has also been excluded; he was in-bounds at Copper Mountain but succumbed to what's been characterized as a "non-trauma event" -- possibly a heart attack. And while Caleb Moore died at an Aspen resort, he perished as a result of injuries sustained while taking part in the ESPN X-Games snowmobile competition.
Including Moore, at least eight people have died on Colorado slopes thus far in the 2012-2013 ski season, but only four are part of the official count: Natalie Egleston, a Philadelphia executive who died on February 4 after a collision at Aspen Mountain (she was standing still when another skier struck her), plus Tristan Bartlett, thirteen, who died at Copper Mountain on January 4, and Doae Oh, twenty, killed in a January 9 accident, also at Keystone. The latter pair hit trees. Neither Bartlett nor Oh were wearing helmets, but Egleston was.
Our sincere condolences to Glaz's friends, family and loved ones.
Here's the Keystone video of Porcupine, followed by the clip featuring Arthur Glaz.
More from our News archive: "Natalie Egleston was standing still before collision that took her life on Aspen Mountain."