Elise Johnson had already been skiing since she was 2 years old when, as an energetic kindergartener, her parents took their young family on a skiing trip on Christmas Eve 2010.
What started as a day of holiday fun for the Thermopolis, Wyoming, family ended in an avoidable tragedy.
“Elise was always doing handstands or cartwheels or climbing on things,” said her mother, Kelli Johnson. “She just was full of adventure, a little spitfire, but also so caring.”
It was the first day that Hogadon Ski Area in Casper was open that season and the family bought season passes, anticipating another fun winter on the slope with their daughters — 5-year-old Elise and 3-year-old Milli.
Logan, 4 months, was at the lodge with his grandparents while the rest of the Johnson family enjoyed the snow.
Elise was taking her second run with her mom when her ski came off in a simple mishap. Kelli pulled off to the side of the hill to help her daughter put the ski back on.
Above them, a snowboarder had told his friends that he was going to straight-line the run and get to the lift as fast as he could.
The young man was known as an expert rider but had reportedly been problematic on the Hoadon slopes for several years prior with his overconfidence and high speeds, said Chauncy, Elise’s father.
“There were people on the lift trying to get his attention to slow down,” Chauncy said. “But he didn't see Kelli and Elise in time and collided with them going between 50 and 60 mph.”
The collision happened just after 2 p.m., turning the Johnsons' lives upside down. The snowboarder and Elise both lost their lives, and Kelli sustained a severe traumatic brain injury.
“My head whiplashed and some nerves in my neck got stretched really severely,” Kelli said.
Elise Johnson, 5, was killed in 2010 when a snowboarder hit her going 50 mph, who was also killed. Her mother suffered severe brain trauma. It was a preventable accident and her family has launched a campaign to keep the ski slopes safer with slogans such as “She was 5, You Were Going 50” and “Live To Ride Another Day.” Elise will forever be their snow angel as her parents preserve their daughter’s legacy by saving others. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson) 
Kelli and Chauncy Johnson returned to Hogadon Ski Resort in Casper, Wyoming, this month to honor the memory of their five year old daughter, Elise, who lost her life in 2010 when a speeding snowboarder hit her going at least 50 mph. The snowboarder was also killed and Kelli had a traumatic head injury. The couple have started a foundation in Elise’s memory to prevent future tragedies on the slope by raising awareness of riding safely. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson) 
Kelli and Chauncy Johnson of Thermopolis lost their 5-year-old daughter, Elise, in a preventable accident on Hogadon in Casper, Wyoming, in 2010. They have taken their other children back to the ski slopes and are keeping Elise’s memory alive through a campaign to encourage safety on the ski slopes. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson) 
Kelli and Chauncy Johnson of Thermopolis lost their 5-year-old daughter, Elise, in a preventable accident on Hogadon in Casper, Wyoming, in 2010. They have taken their other children back to the ski slopes and are keeping Elise’s memory alive through a campaign to encourage safety on the ski slopes. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson)
Kelli’s Recovery
Kelli was life-flighted to Wyoming Medical Center and put in a medically-induced coma.
Still unconscious, she would eventually be transferred to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado, a facility that focuses specifically on traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
When she finally woke up a month later, Kelli said she had no memory of the accident and Chauncy had to tell her that their little girl was gone.
“It was exactly a month after when I could tell her what happened because she could not remember,” Chauncy said. “She had to relearn how to swallow and all these things that we don't really think about just to make sure that her brain was working appropriately for her to be able to have normal function again.”
While devastated, Kelli was determined to be home with her two younger children.
Within a year, she was able to care for Milli and their infant son, Logan, on her own.
Kelli said that her brain was still healing from the accident and she was grateful for friends and family that rallied around her, making it possible to return to her kids.
“I gradually graduated from speech therapy, then physical therapy, and then occupational therapy,” Kelli said. “When I got to the point where my therapist felt I had reached the baseline minimum goals that we had set, I was able to focus more on my kids and being more independent.”
Fifteen years later, Kelli continues to do the exercises she learned in therapy and still has limited use of her right arm, which has been paralyzed by the crash.
“My brain injury was on the left side of my brain, so the right side of my body still has sensation difficulties,” Kelli said.
Back On The Slopes
While Kelli worked on her physical recovery, Chauncy had to recover mentally as he tried to hold himself and the family together.
“I had big-time anxiety,” Chauncy said. “Kelli didn't have as much of that because she was knocked unconscious at the moment of impact and doesn't have any memories of anything that day.”
Chauncy watched the first responders bring first Elise and then the snowboarder off the mountain.
They were loaded into ambulances and whisked away while a part of his heart ripped out as the miles separated him from his young daughter.
“I wasn't able to ride in the ambulance with Elise,” Chauncy said. “They wouldn't let me do that. The third patient brought down was Kelly, who they loaded into a life-flight helicopter.”
Chauncy said that he really began to fall apart when Kelli got better and more independent.
He became a functional alcoholic for a couple of years even though prior to that he had hardly drank at all.
“I didn't know how to cope with all these different things that were happening with me,” Chauncy said. “I've had a lot of counseling and professional help so that I could face fear in a healthy way.”
Part of facing his fear was getting back on the ski slopes on Beaver Mountain in Utah, one year after the accident.
“I remember having an anxiety attack when I was strapping my snowboard on to get on the lift,” Chauncy said.
He faced his fear, however, and got on the lift.
Riding the lift was the most daunting challenge for Chauncy since the last time he had rode one was with 5-year-old Elise on that heart-wrenching day that they lost her.
The silver lining was there was 10 inches of fresh snow.
“When I started riding, it was this mixture of the joy of being back out on the mountain and a lot of fear,” Chauncy said. “I made myself take several runs that day, and I had this thought that I would need to do something to elevate awareness on mountain safety and collision prevention.”
The thought was just a germ of an idea as both Chauncy and Kelli still needed to work on their own healing from the loss of their daughter and Kelli’s brain injury.
“That first day back was a confirmation that for me to feel better about everything, I would need to do something to try to prevent that kind of thing from happening again in the future,” Chauncy said.
He continued to deal with his anxiety as he made strides forward, including when he took his kids back out on the mountain.
Chauncy said that skiing has been a large part of his life since he was a kid and he is grateful he did not leave it behind with his grief.
“I am now just finding a lot of joy being with my other kids and Kelli on the mountain and skiing,” Chauncy said. “It is almost like I’m communing with Elise.”
To honor the memory of five year old Elise Johnson, skiers and snowboarders wore angel wings on the slopes of Hogadon. In 2010, Elise was killed at the Casper ski resort when a speeding snowboarder hit her and her mom going an estimated 50 mph. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson) 
Kelli and Chauncy Johnson returned to Hogadon Ski Resort in Casper, Wyoming, this month to honor the memory of their five year old daughter, Elise, who lost her life in 2010 when a speeding snowboarder hit her going at least 50 mph. The snowboarder was also killed and Kelli had a traumatic head injury. The couple have started a foundation in Elise’s memory to prevent future tragedies on the slope by raising awareness of riding safely. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson) 
To honor the memory of five year old Elise Johnson, skiers and snowboarders wore angel wings on the slopes of Hogadon. In 2010, Elise was killed at the Casper ski resort when a speeding snowboarder hit her and her mom going an estimated 50 mph. (Courtesy Chauncy and Kelli Johnson)
Live To Ride Another Day
In 2016, six years after losing Elise, Chauncy and Kelli reached out to the National Ski Areas Association, which agreed to start a safety campaign with the family.
They were the first family to suffer a loss to a preventable skiing accident who begin talking with the organization about the need for safety.
The idea that struck Chauncy on his first day back on the slopes has grown to a nation-wide safety campaign that has now spread into Canada.
The Johnsons began partnering with others in the ski industry, including “Ski Magazine.”
“We came up with the Live to Ride Another Day campaign,” Chauncy said. “There's also a poster with an empty snow angel that says, “She was five. You were doing 50.”
Chauncy and Kelli started to get requests from ski patrol teams at resorts across the country inviting them to come and tell their story.
Their campaign soon grew into orientations and direct work with seasonal staff so they could understand the why behind all their safety efforts.
In early 2023, the campaign evolved once more and became the Snow Angel Foundation, a vehicle for the couple to go into schools and work with students heading to ski resorts.
Their organization focuses on education and awareness since collisions continue to be a leading cause of injury on the slope.
“A lot of younger guys can be hard to reach, but when we let them know about the severity of this collision and the young man that lost his life, it really grabs their attention in a way that no other messaging has done before,” Chauncy said.
This past Valentine’s Day, the Johnsons were back skiing at Hogadon, wearing angel wings in memory of their snow angel, Elise.
The goal as they skied with their children was to make the ski slopes a safer place for everyone and to never forget Elise, their forever kindergartner.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
