Sheriff's officials say a skier died after apparently skiing off a headwall near a lift at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort.

La Plata County Sheriff's spokesman Dan Bender says two people riding the lift yesterday afternoon alerted resort officials after spotting ski tracks leading off a short cliff in the direction of a hole in the snow below.

Ski patrol members arrived and found a man, described as a 19 year old Durango resident, head first in the snow.

They began CPR but were unable to revive him.

The victim's name was not immediately released.

Bender says the accident happened in a closed part of the ski area.