TAOS – Jario Hernandez, a 28-year-old snowboarder from Rio Rancho, died early Saturday afternoon at Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort, said Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe.
JP Bradley, general manager of Sipapu, said ski patrol staff at the small resort found Hernandez unresponsive around 1:00 p.m. along a tree line on a slope classified as “moderate”.
Hernandez appeared to have bumped into a tree and was wearing a helmet, he said.
“Patrol did a great job and a great job, but the injury he sustained … they couldn’t take any further care to keep him alive,” said Bradley. “Our condolences go to the family. This is a small community and we are all feeling the blow.”
Bradley said the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator responded to the resort and will do an autopsy.
Sipapu is also conducting its own investigation into the incident, he said, speaking to witnesses who were on the run when Hernandez was injured.
The death was the first on the mountain in the 20 years he worked at the resort, Bradley said.
Sipapu opens for the season on November 19th.
Comments are closed.