Teenage skier dies in accident at Tahoe-area resort after colliding with another teen
A teenage boy was killed in a skiing accident at Palisades Tahoe after colliding with another teen over the weekend, the ski resort and school district officials said.
“At around 2 p.m. (Sunday), two teenage skiers collided on Yellow Trail on the Alpine side of Palisades Tahoe,” the resort said in an emailed statement. “One teenager, a member of the Palisades Tahoe Big Mountain Competition Team, was fatally injured.
“The other teenager, a member of the Olympic Valley Freestyle Team, was transported via Care Flight to Renown Hospital in Reno, NV, and is reported to be recovering.”
Tahoe Truckee Unified School District identified the deceased victim as Scotty Lapp, a sophomore at North Tahoe High School.
“Our hearts are broken at TTUSD and our deepest sympathies are extended to the Lapp family and his friends,” district spokeswoman Kelli Twomey wrote.
North Tahoe High has nine mental health professionals available this week, as well as a chaplain and therapy dogs, for student support, according to Twomey.
Palisades Tahoe said the resort had a crisis counselor on-site Sunday “to comfort the boys’ teammates.”
“We will continue to provide services and resources to help those who are grieving.”
A GoFundMe page set up for Lapp set a unique goal: to create a memorial skate park in the teen’s honor in his hometown of Tahoe City. The page had raised more than $62,000 by midday Tuesday.
“If he wasn’t on the mountain skiing with his ski team he was skating the streets of Lake Tahoe,” wrote organizer Mark Holmstrom, who said Lapp was his adopted son.
“In his honor, we are raising money to help fund a skate park in Tahoe City, California. It will become a place for many to reflect, to learn, to move, to make new friends, and to be inspired.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2022 at 12:24 PM.
