Georgia man dies in skiing accident

By Associated Press

For the AJC

KEYSTONE, Colo. — A Georgia man was killed Sunday while skiing at Keystone Ski Resort.

Summit County Coroner Joanne Richardson says the man was 58-year-old Odo Lessacher of Griffin.

Richardson said in a statement that the man was found in the trees at the intersection of two intermediate runs on North Peak.

Ski patrol responded to the scene and administered CPR at about 10 a.m., after a report from a bystander. Lessacher was declared dead by a Care Flight nurse.

Richardson says the cause of death was internal bleeding and blunt force trauma to the chest. She says Lessacher wasn't wearing a helmet.

It's been a deadly year so far on Colorado's ski slopes.

On Jan. 19, a skier and snowboarder died in separate incidents.

The Pitkin County Sheriff’s office said a 30-year-old male snowboarder was found unconscious in the Deep Temerity area of Aspen Highlands after apparently colliding with two trees and getting impaled on a tree branch.  Ski Patrol performed CPR but could not revive him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

At nearby Snowmass, a 43-year-old male skier was caught in an avalanche while skiing out of bound on Burnt Mountain. The man was buried under the snow for approximately 10 minutes before bystanders dug him out. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

On Jan. 20  a 51-year-old skier from Texas died after falling and apparently hitting his head on a snow-covered stump at Copper Mountain Resort.

On Jan. 23 a snowboarder was found dead in a "snow depression" at the Steamboat Ski Resort. A snow depression occurs when snow gathers on top of a wetland area.