Ryan Moore, 19, of Stateline died Wednesday after falling from a chairlift.
Ryan Donald Moore, the 19-year-old Stateline man who died Wednesday after falling from a chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort, was remembered by friends and family Thursday as a well-liked, avid snowboarder.
"Ryan was very outgoing, very personable," Moore's father, Daniel Moore, said by phone from his Santa Ynez, Calif., home Thursday afternoon. His son was a "joy to be around," Daniel Moore added.
Ryan Moore attended high school at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School and had moved to Stateline two years ago.
On his MySpace page, he wrote, "I love to snowboard that is why I live in beautiful Lake Tahoe."
"He was moving away and growing up," Daniel Moore said, explaining his son's recent move. His son was "well-loved," he added.
"Right now, all of his friends are over. They are making a memorial and signing his bedroom door," he said.
Moore said his son had bought his season pass for snowboarding a few days ago and was excited about hitting the slopes.
"He loved snowboarding," Daniel Moore said. "He wakeboarded in the summer. He loved to Frisbee golf."
Ryan Moore worked as a busboy at Lakeside Inn and Casino. He was popular, said Lakeside President Lon Rusk.
"He was a terrifically well-liked kid," Rusk said Thursday. "It's a tragic situation. He had a great attitude about life. He was a good guy, and he's going to be missed."
Moore's death was caused by massive trauma to his skull, said Lt. Les Lovell of the El Dorado Sheriff's Office.
Moore died after falling 30 feet from the Dipper Express chairlift at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Wednesday morning. He was transported by helicopter to Barton Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m.
"The factors contributing to his death were that the safety bar was not utilized, and he did not have a helmet on," Lovell said. "Preliminary reports indicate his death was caused by a blunt-force impact to his skull. He hit his head during the fall, and hit it hard enough to cause massive trauma."
Lovell said toxicology reports stemming from the autopsy will be completed in four to six weeks. There is no indication of foul play.
"It does appear to be simply an accident," he said.
• Contact reporter Jennie Tezak at jtezak@tahoedailytribune.com.