Breckenridge, Colorado

Breckenridge Resort. Photo Credit: skibreck (iStock).

Local news source Summit Daily reports that John Perucco, 60 and of Illinois, has died after falling off Breckenridge's Zendo Chair ski lift near the start of the lift. Perucco fell a reported 25 feet while attempting to remove snow from the surface of the chair while the bar was up.

Zendo Chair is a relatively short ski lift at Breckenridge Resort, with its main use being to connect Peak 7 to Peak 6. Its vertical rise is 271 feet, according to JollyTurns.com.

In a statement from Breckenridge Resort, a spokesperson for the resort confirmed that a guest died following a serious incident on Peak 7. After a ski patrol response, the guest was transported to Saint Anthony Summit Medical for further evaluation and was pronounced deceased.

"Breckenridge Ski Resort, Ski Patrol and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends," said Jody Churich, vice president and chief operating officer at Breckenridge Ski Resort.

The Summit County Coroner's Office confirmed the death via email, also confirming details of the Summit Daily report.

This isn't the first time someone has fallen off a lift at Breckenridge Resort this season, with someone falling approximately 13 feet off of the Peak 8 SuperConnect in December. In that case, the entire chair fell off the lift when an abnormal wind gust caused the chair to make contact the upper terminal. In that case, the guest initially reported that they were not injured.

The OutThere Colorado team has also reached out to the Summit County Sheriff's Office. This piece may be updated when we get a response.

While some prefer to ride ski lifts with the safety bar disengaged, pulling this bar down is strongly recommended, as it provides an extra layer of safety.

STAY INFORMED: Get free Colorado news with our daily newsletter (Click here)

Newsletters

Get OutThere

Signup today for free and be the first to get notified on new updates.

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.