A young skier is dead after taking a fall and suffering a heart attack on Hollyburn Mountain Saturday afternoon.
The 26-year-old Vancouver resident was skiing in the backcountry area of Cypress Mountain resort when he went over a steep ravine into a muddy creek embankment, according to West Vancouver Police.
His friend and two nearby snowshoers came to his aid, called 9-1-1 and performed CPR while North Shore Rescue volunteers and Cypress Mountain patrol members rushed to the scene.
"We don't know the exact of cause of death but he went into cardiac arrest in the tree well," said Tim Jones, NSR team leader.
The team used their long-line rescue gear to hoist the man out of the well and transfer him to a waiting ambulance. He was taken directly to Vancouver General Hospital but staff there were unable to revive him, Jones said.
At the time of the call, North Shore Rescue volunteers were busy trying to corral a dog missing on Mount Seymour. That actually meant rescuers had a faster response time to the downed skier because they were already mobilized and nearby, he said.
"Every chance for his survival was given as a trickle effect of us being on that dog rescue because we were so quick getting over there," Jones said.
Police will not be releasing the victim's name at the request of his family.
