Elk Valley RCMP are conducting an investigation after a man died Wednesday after falling into a sinkhole at Fernie Alpine Resort.
On Wednesday, officers responded to reports of a possible sudden death at the complex, where they discovered BC Ambulance transporting a man to hospital.
Police say the man had apparently fallen into a “natural terrain trap” located near the Polar Peak chairlift beneath one of the resort’s lift towers.
Authorities say there was a sign nearby warning about the hole, but the victim, a 67-year-old man, didn’t see it and fell into the hole.
Another skier who was in the area saw the victim’s boots sticking out of the ground and tried to help him.
Police say poor visibility at the time contributed to the man skiing into the terrain trap, which they describe as approximately 20 feet by 30 feet wide filled with “loose, unbroken snow.”
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Brett Urano said the loose snow had a deadly impact.
“When you fall into a trap like this, with loose snow, it’s basically like quicksand,” Urano said, “because the snow is very light, fluffy, which is the best snow for skiing, but when you fall into those situations, it’s difficult get ahead.
“And you just continue to fall deeper and deeper into the snow and that would lead to, unfortunately in this case, oxygen deprivation from the snow, which basically acts as a method of suffocating someone.”
Police say ski patrol and BC Ambulance made enormous efforts to keep the man alive, but after several hours in the hospital, he was taken off life support and pronounced dead.
An RCMP spokesperson said the man was from Ontario.
