China Peak officials say they're heartbroken over the skier's death. The Sheriff's Office says the incident appears to be an accident. They say Sigle was alone when he crashed.
We're told another skier spotted Sigle's ski pole around 5 p.m. Saturday near the edge of an intermediate run. China Peak's director of mountain operations says Sigle appeared to have lost control as he went downhill. They say he left the groomed trail and went over the edge of the run.
Sheriff's officials say the victim struck a tree trunk. When the ski patrol found him they noticed his helmet was cracked.
Sgt. Michael George of the Sheriff's Office said, "China Peak ski patrol arrived, they started doing CPR on the individual. They kept doing CPR until EMS rolled up. He was pronounced dead on the scene."
Rich Bailey of China Peak said, "Unfortunately, in this case he may have caught an edge or something, come out of his skies and went off the edge of a run. Our hearts goes out to his family, to him. Our biggest objective in ski patrol is prevention."
Officials say it was a very rare incident to happen at China Peak. Just one year ago, on March 18, 2012, a snowboarder died after falling face first into deep snow.
Sigle's death, according to China Peak and the Sheriff's Office is the first major incident so far this season at China Peak. Sigle was a season pass holder and likely familiar with the ski runs.
No one really knows what caused him to lose control and go over the edge.
