Heavenly names run after young skier who died

By Kathryn Reed

If people didn’t know who Emily Clothier was before, they will now – assuming they are skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

A run off Stagecoach bears her name. Emily’s Run is printed on maps and posters of the ski resort. Signs go up this week.

Emily Clothier

Emily was 14 years old when she died in a ski racing accident at Heavenly in 2008. She had been a member of the Heavenly Ski and Snowboard Foundation for eight years.

“I wanted a legacy for Emily,” her father Steve Clothier told Lake Tahoe News. “A lot of good stuff has come out of a really bad situation.”

Clothier was instrumental in getting the resort to clear trees to make Stagecoach Run wider and safer. In doing so it essentially created another run. That new run is the one for Emily.

It’s in the area where she was skiing that day and where the racing team still practices.

The resort is not organizing a ceremony, but Clothier plans to gather the patrolmen who helped that tragic day and others to have a picture taken as soon as the sign goes up – which will be today or Friday. He envisions it being the family Christmas picture this year.

Heavenly has other runs named after people, but it’s been years since it has done so. It took going to corporate in Colorado to make this happen.

A memorial was established at the base of the tree where Emily was found. It’s a weatherproof shadow box that tells the story of what happened. Inside the box is a book people may write in.

“I ski by it every single day to see who signed it,” Clothier said.