Skier Dies After Falling Into Pile of Fresh, Deep Snow

A ski trip in Alberta's Banff National Park turned fatal over the weekend for a 47-year-old woman from Toronto. Sunshine Village Ski Resort says the woman was skiing on Saturday afternoon on Banff Avenue, a beginner-rated green run on the lower mountain, when she plunged into a pocket of deep, fresh snow just off the trail, reports the CBC. Another skier tried to help the woman, IDed as Farah Merchant, before official help arrived, but to no avail, per the Winnipeg Sun. Ski patrol responded and performed CPR for about two hours on Merchant but couldn't revive her.

Incidents like this can involve what experts call deep snow immersion, where a skier becomes trapped and immobilized in soft snow and can suffocate. The woman's body was taken to Calgary for an autopsy to determine the official cause of death, which police say doesn't appear to be suspicious, reports CTV News. A resort spokesperson, who notes the woman may have died of suffocation or cardiac arrest, says Sunshine Village is deeply saddened by the incident and extended condolences to the woman's family, per the CBC. The death comes during what the resort says is its fourth-snowiest season on record.