Authorities reported that Pennsylvania native Tyler James Updegraff passed away in a skiing accident on January 26 in Colorado. He was 27 at the time.
When he passed away from wounds sustained in a “single skier verses snow accident” on the first jump feature at Little Makuna Park in the Snowmass ski area, the former Cumberland Valley football star was working with student-athletes, according to Pitkin County Deputy Coroner Kevin Hadfield.
According to a statement from the county coroner’s office, the mode of death has been determined to be accidental while the formal cause of death is still under medical investigation. His death is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the office.
When performing the trick, Updegraff and his high school friend Brad Hamshaw did not engage in their customary pre-trick conversation; instead, according to The Denver Gazette, Updegraff “struck the jump in front of Hamshaw.”
Updegraff, a lifelong skier, reportedly relocated to Colorado “to focus on the sport,” according to the publication, which cited his close friend Olivia Rogers.
According to a statement from the Aspen Skiing Company that Aspen Times was able to get, the Mechanicsburg transplant to Silverthorne, CO was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident, which occurred in the landing area of the park’s first jump.
According to the outlet citing the ski firm, the snowmass ski patrol responded to a call at 2:24 p.m. and arrived 10 minutes later to find Updegraff unconscious. They immediately started life-saving measures and continued as they went to Snowmass Clinic, where he was subsequently declared dead.
According to his Facebook, Updegraff was a standout on the football squad at Cumberland Valley High School as well as the CV track and wrestling teams when he was younger.
According to his social media accounts, he continued to play at Drake University, where he earned a business administration degree in 2018. According to his LinkedIn, he spent a year in China before relocating to Colorado, where he worked as a foreign language instructor at Guangxi Normal University in Guilin. According to the county directory, he most recently worked for Summit County as a Mountain Mentors Coordinator.
“He was dedicating his life to making an impact with kids and I can tell you, in the short time I witnessed it, no one made a bigger impact. I never saw him without a smile,” Williams wrote in his post. “He treated my son like he was his own. He was impactful enough that my little man asked if he could say a prayer for Tyler last night. He’s six years old.”
In addition to teaching the Healthy Choices class at Summit Middle School, Updegraff was a strength and conditioning coach for many of the team’s student-athletes. He also “has been an important mentor to both SHS and SMS students,” said Kate Hudnut, chair of the Summit School District RE-1 Board of Directors, in a statement posted on Facebook on behalf of the district.
In a post on LinkedIn, Collin Williams, who had co-coached with Updegraff, referred to him as one of the “really nice guys” he has known.
Details about the funeral and memorial service have not yet been made public, but a GoFundMe account has been launched to aid with the expenses.
“Tyler’s caring nature, patience towards others, and the energy he put out into the world made an impact on countless people from Colorado to China. Tyler always saw the best in others and encouraged everyone else to see it as well. He found joy in every aspect of life and especially enjoyed skiing, rock climbing, camping, hiking, football, and many more activities,” Brian Cherewka writes on the campaign page.
