The 19-year-old male who died after falling in the backcountry while skiing on Phalanx Mountain on Wednesday (Feb. 20) has been identified as Danish national Frederik Gornder Husted by the newspaper Ekstra Bladet online.
According to Danish news site Ekstra Bladet, Husted arrived in Canada in November and planned to stay for five months in this country.
Whistler Search and Rescue responded on Wednesday afternoon to the incident at the northern part of the Spearhead Range, an area popular with backcountry skiers and snowboarders.
The 19-year-old was backcountry skiing when he dropped off a terrain feature and struck a rock, according to a press release from Whistler RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair.
Injured and in distress, his companions called for assistance. However, before SAR arrived, he lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Life saving efforts were initiated and the skier was transported to the Whistler Health Care Centre by helicopter, where efforts to resuscitate him continued.
"Unfortunately he succumbed to his injuries and passed away," wrote LeClair. "It appears that the male suffered blunt force chest trauma in this incident."
Whistler RCMP and the BC Coroner's Service are investigating the accident.
