In a surprising—but not unheard of—determination, the Teton County Coroner ruled the death of Jackson Hole, Wyo., ski instructor a homicide. The 71-year-old Jackson resident was on April 14, and was on life support in an Idaho hospital until his death on April 17.
Wuerslin, who was skiing on the intermediate Rendezvous trail, was hit by a skier located uphill from him “who failed to maneuver” around him, according to ski patrol reports. Both men were taken to the hospital, and the 34-year-old skier who hit Wuerslin, who also lives in the region and hasn’t been publicly identified, was released to recover at home. Wuerslin was not teaching at the time of the accident.
Following an autopsy, coroner Brent Blue determined the cause of death to be intracranial hemorrhage and ruled Wuerslin’s death a homicide. Blue also shared that , and doesn’t mean that criminal charges will be brought. The Teton County Sheriff’s office said that its investigation is ongoing, and that they are currently seeking eyewitnesses to the April 14 collision.
While a homicide ruling in a ski collision is very rare, it does highlight the growing concern over out-of-control skiers and snowboarders on increasingly crowded slopes. Since the pandemic, more and more people have turned to outdoor recreation, and since the winter of 2021.
Collisions aren’t new, but they are becoming more common. The Colorado Sun, and reported that “it would appear that the increasing frequency of injuries coincides with the rising number of [skier] visits.” The Sun noted that since the ski industry isn’t required to report skier injury data, it’s nearly impossible to confirm with hard numbers.
That said, the Denver–based daily newspaper did collect trauma center admission data from 25 Colorado zip codes reported to the state’s health department between 2017 and 2022. Reporter Jason Blevins also visited the two busiest ERs in ski country and spoke to over a dozen injured skiers. Through that, the Sun came to the conclusion that there’s “an increasing concern about safety on ski slopes as crowding and collisions increase.”
There’s no real debate that collisions on the slopes are accidents, not premeditated, but that doesn’t make the responsible party immune from criminal charges. After , a 21-year-old liftie named Nathan Hall was charged with, and ultimately convicted of, criminally negligent homicide. Hall, who had just left his post for the day and was heading down the mountain via the Lower Riva Ridge run, collided with 33-year-old Alan Cobb at a high rate of speed. Cobb suffered a fractured skull and died the same day. Hall’s sentence included 90 days of jail time, three years of probation, and an $18,000 fine.
Just two seasons ago, a snowboarder who collided with a skier at Colorado’s Eldora Mountain was charged with leaving the scene of a crash. Nicholas Martinez, 29, slammed into Eldora ski instructor Ron LeMaster, who never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at the base of the mountain on Nov. 3o, 2021. In that case, the Boulder County prosecutor’s office declined to push forward with a manslaughter charge because they couldn’t prove that Martinez was snowboarding out of control, nor if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Martinez was and received a $500 fine and 40 hours of community service, to the disappointment of LeMaster’s family and friends.
In Jackson Hole’s Wuerslin case, it remains to be seen whether criminal charges will be brought. Still, there’s no denying that skier collisions are not to be shrugged off as “just part of the sport.” That personal responsibility needs to be taken seriously—or else there could be legal consequences.
“These incidents unfortunately continue to be an occurrence for skiers,” JHMR’s Risk and Safety Director Jon Bishop , “It is your duty as an uphill skier to avoid those below you. We ask that everyone ski in a safe and respectful manner.”
It could be a matter of life and death.