Skiing Star Dies at Age 26 in Tragic Tahoe Accident on Slopes

Ellery Curtis was a 26-year-old skier who died in a tragic accident at Palisades Tahoe.

She died after an accident that occurred at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025, "on terrain accessed from the KT-22 chairlift," SFGate reported.

Ski patrol "responded immediately and provided onsite medical care, but the skier succumbed to a fatal head injury," according to SFGate.

According to Powder.com, Curtis died on "Ahhh Chute, a challenging trail on Palisades' famous KT-22 lift."

Curtis skied for Dartmouth University.

She "earned a spot on the All-America Second Team by placing eighth in the giant slalom at the NCAA Championships," the university's page for Curtis says. She was also named to the All-East Second Team "as the seventh-ranked women’s alpine skier in the East." And she was named to the USCSCA National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team "for a third straight year," the university wrote on its page for Curtis, referred to as Ellie Curtis on the page.

She "pushed the limits every time on the slopes that led to great results or DNF results … completed both runs in three races, reaching the podium each time, starting with a third-place showing in the slalom in the Vermont race that was held at Dartmouth," according to the website.

Under "personal," the website says she was the "daughter of Charles Curtis and Katherine Dolan … has one sister … interested in a business career … enjoys camping, biking and hiking."

“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.”

Curtis was working as a public utilities regulatory analyst, according to her LinkedIn page.