Long Time Wyoming Ski Guide Dies After Escalator Fall

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — A 59-year-old man who fell to his death at a convention center in Anchorage, Alaska, was a longtime ski guide and backcountry ski pioneer.

Theo Meiners fell at the Dena'ina Center at about 10:45 p.m. Thursday and was pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses told police he was riding an escalator inappropriately before he fell 50 to 60 feet.

Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Marlene Lammers says Meiners was in the city attending the International Snow Science Workshop.

The Associated Press reports Meiners had been a guide in Jackson Hole for 30 years and owned Alaska Rendezvous Heli-Guides. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort president Jerry Blann says Meiners "brought skill and experience when both teaching and guiding," and he will be missed.