The area is apparently popular to backcountry skiers — with a sheriff warning “and the backcountry has inherent risk.”
21-year-old skier Dallas LeBeau is dead after attempting what authorities are calling a “high-risk stunt” over Highway 40 on Berthoud Pass in Colorado.
According to the Grand County Sheriff’s Office, they responded to a skiing accident on the highway on Wednesday afternoon, after a call regarding an unconscious man who wasn’t breathing. A bystander initiated CPR, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.
The Grand County Coroner’s Office later confirmed LeBeau was the victim.
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“The preliminary investigation revealed that the victim was attempting to perform a high-risk skiing stunt by trying to clear the width of Highway 40 and unfortunately lacked the necessary speed and distance and subsequently landed on the highway pavement,” said sheriffs, who added LeBeau was “wearing a helmet and other protective gear” at the time of the accident.
The Sheriff’s Office also noted that the highway on both directions of Highway 40 was impacted “while investigators processed the scene and maintained the privacy of the victim.”
His childhood friend Devin Shirk, who has also started a GoFundMe to raise money for LeBeau’s funeral, told KDVR the late skier “wanted to do things that nobody else had done” and was happy to share a birthday with Evel Knievel.
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“He encouraged other people to start skiing too,” Shirk added. “That was one of my favorite things about him too, is even if it wasn’t jumps, he would just be like, ‘You just gotta try skiing — it will change your life.'”
Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin told CBS he knew the area was popular for backcountry skiers.
“The ski injuries, risky for the tubing that goes on up there, risky for the avalanches,” Schroetlin said. “It is Colorado’s backcountry and the backcountry has inherent risk. Yesterday was one of those risks.”
