Former All-American college skier dies in accident at Lake Tahoe resort

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Skier swept away by avalanche

A skier miraculously survived an avalanche after deploying an emergency airbag. (Instagram/@leoloux_)

A former “All-American” athlete at Dartmouth College died from injuries following a skiing crash on Saturday afternoon at a Lake Tahoe, California, ski resort.

Ellery “Ellie” Curtis, 26, died from a head injury suffered during the crash at Palisades Tahoe on Saturday, April 5, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital.

The Waitsfield, Vermont, native was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Our hearts go out to her family and all who loved her as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” Placer County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Elise Soviar said.

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Ellery “Ellie” Dolan Curtis, 26, died following a ski accident at Palisades Tahoe on Saturday. (Ellery Curtis via Instagram)

Curtis crashed while skiing down the “Ahhh Chute” trail on the Palisades’ KT-22 lift, Palisades Tahoe Public Relations Manager Patrick Lacey told Fox News Digital.

Lacey said that the ski patrol team had responded immediately and provided on-site medical care, but Curtis died at the scene.

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The mountains and trees along Highway 50 are covered in snow as viewed on January 28, 2017, near South Lake Tahoe, California. (George Rose/Getty Images)

The former second-team All-American skier placed eighth in the giant slalom competition at the NCAA Championships during her senior year in 2022.

During her college career, Curtis also earned USCSCA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team honors three times, according to the college.

“Ellie was amazing. She was one of the hardest workers I’ve had in my 10 years at Dartmouth, and that’s off the snow also,” Dartmouth women’s alpine ski coach John Dwyer told Valley News. “She was a tremendous student.”

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Dwyer said Curtis was known as someone who was “dedicated to being the best skier she could be.”

“She was fast and unrelenting and there was nothing that was going to get in her way,” her former coach said.

A native of Waitsfield, Vermont, Curtis was a former member of the Dartmouth College ski team and an accomplished skier. (Ellery Curtis via Instagram)

According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in government and environmental studies from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

She was based in San Francisco and worked as a regulatory analyst for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

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“Ellie was a valued member of the CPUC, and she will be deeply missed. She came to the CPUC to protect the environment she cared about so deeply and was very excited about starting her career here. Our hearts go out to her family, friends, colleagues, and all who were touched by her kindness,” agency spokesperson Terrie Prosper said in a statement to KTVU.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.

Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the “Defund the police” movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump’s life and illegal immigration.

She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.