SAM Magazine—Aspen, Colo., Jan. 7, 2013—Snowmass ski patroller Patsy Hileman, 49, triggered the avalanche that killed her Dec. 30 at Snowmass, in the same area where the ski patrol had performed control work three days before the accident, according to a report from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Ski patrol had used explosives to trigger an avalanche in the Ship's Prow Glades, a permanently closed area, on Dec. 27, the report said. Hileman was skiing alone while on duty and was in the Ship’s Prow Glade. It appeared that she triggered and was caught in a small avalanche and was swept over a cliff. There were no witnesses to the accident.

“This is a shocking and tragic accident that deeply affects everyone in the company,” Aspen Skiing Co. president and CEO Mike Kaplan said in a statement. “Our deepest sympathies and condolences are with her family and friends at this time.”