Nevada Skier Dies After Vt. Accident During Practice for NCAA Downhill

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-A University of Nevada skier died yesterday after he lost control on an icy course and crashed in the wooded area of the Middlebury Ski Bowl.

Douglas Magowan was pronounced dead at Burlington Hospital by a Mid-dlebury medical examiner, several hours after the 11 a.m. accident. Magowan was practicing for Thursday's NCAA downhill event.

Magowan began his run by coming down a steep chute to pick up speed for the rest of the course. But he lost control in a series of bumps and had no chance to correct his position before veering off into the woods. He was traveling about 40 miles per hour as he left the course.

Harvard's Ben Steele and Bobby Cochran of the University of Vermont, who trailed Magowan, rushed to the aid of the fallen skier. After attempts to revive him failed, Magowan was hurried to the hospital.

Unlike the snow during the Middlebury Carnival Eastern Regionals two weeks ago, the snow yesterday was much harder and faster and was patched with ice. Red flags marking the gate at the bottom of the chute stand only 10 feet away from the woods.

A University of Montana skier said yesterday Magowan "probably was't used to skiing on ice. In Nevada, there's no ice, just powder," he said. An investigation of the accident continues today.