Hatfield
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The same article talks about a snowstorm that closed the lifts around the time he went missing.
Ive been skiing before and that can cause trouble when lifts close. The mountains have strict policy about lifts and wont open them back up when they shut them down.
I was once stuck on the backside of a mountain once after we stayed too late in an area and the lifts closed. It was a lot of anxiety and worries. We had to wait for a shuttle bus to take us to the other side of the mountain. Took around two hours before we got back.
So if there was a blizzard and he somehow got stuck like that then its possible all the commotion triggered some illness he had. The blizzard alone would cause lots of stress.
"He was reported missing from Whiteface in Northern New York after the lifts closed that day, and in the midst of a snowstorm."
http://www.wcax.com/content/news/Missing-skier-found-alive-in-California-473916753.html
Sorry to quote my own post but now I am more convinced what I described above may be very close to what happened. This other link below (thanks Elley) mentions something that fits in with it.
If he took that last run and then got stuck somewhere on the backside of the mountain when lifts closed then he would not be able to get back to lodge without a vehicle of some sort like a local cab or someone willing to drive him. The stress may have triggered him to panic and things went downhill from there as he began to ask people for rides.
"As his pals called it quits for the day, Filippidis went out for one last ski run the afternoon of Feb. 7 and never returned."
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ed-n-y-ski-trip-found-calif-article-1.3819779