Sean Haberthier Second Person to Die Skiing at Breckenridge This Season

Sean Haberthier, a 47-year-old Denver resident, is the third person to die at a Colorado ski area this season and the second to perish while skiing at Breckenridge.

As we've reported, Kevin Pitts, a 48-year-old from Longmont, was killed while skiing at Breckenridge in December. In addition, San Antonio's Kelly Huber passed away after a fall from a Granby ski lift that also injured her two daughters. A report about the tragedy has concluded that a mechanical error with the lift was responsible for the accident.

Haberthier was reported missing on Thursday, January 12. The following day, according to the Summit Daily, he was located on Lower Boneyard, an expert run at Breck, not far from the Peak 8 lift.

Here's a video featuring the Boneyard run.


Although Haberthier was alive when he was located, he didn't respond to medical treatment and was reportedly 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.

Before Haberthier's death was confirmed to media organizations, a friend posted about it on Facebook.

The item begins: "We said goodbye to our friend Sean Haberthier today. Sean was skiing on Thursday and lost control and hit a tree and was killed. We gathered today [January 15] with ski patrol to pay our respects and tell a few stories about Sean."

Included with the post are a number of photos, including one showing a stand of trees from the Lower Boneyard. The caption on the image reads: "This looks safe enough, right? Wrong."

The post concludes: "Please ski with a friend if you're in the trees. Wait for your people and if they don't show up — trust your gut and get ski patrol on the mountain looking. Give a ski patrol a thank you when you can...and make sure you are always skiing in control. RIP Sean."

The Daily reveals that Haberthier grew up in Powell, Wyoming, where he was an outstanding high-school wrestler, before starting a construction business in Colorado with his brother a couple of decades ago. He was an outdoorsy person with a deep love of skiing.

In a statement about Haberthier's death, John Buhler, Breckenridge's vice president and COO, wrote, "Breckenridge Ski Resort, Breckenridge Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends."