A B.C. snowboarder is dead after she was found submerged head-first in the snow.
RCMP spokesman Corporal Dan Moskaluk said the 32-year-old woman - an experienced snowboarder - died Wednesday after falling on the slopes of Retallack Lodge, near the town of Kaslo.
Cpl. Moskaluk said the woman was on the hill with a group of skiers, who eventually noticed she was missing.
"The guide returned up the hill and used his avalanche transceiver to locate the female snowboarder and found her partially submerged in the snow, head-first," Cpl. Moskaluk wrote in a statement.
The woman wasn't breathing and was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"The preliminary information and observations indicate that the female took a fall backwards in the freshly fallen snow ... submerging her upper body in the deep snow," Cpl. Moskaluk said.
The BC Coroners Service is investigating the cause of death but Cpl. Moskaluk said it is not suspicious. He said though an avalanche transceiver was used to locate the woman, a slide did not occur.
The deceased is a B.C. resident.
This week has seen a number of outdoor deaths in B.C. Sunday, a 44-year-old man was killed when his snowmobile collided with another sled near Prince George. Monday, a 44-year-old man died near Fernie after his snowmobile hit a ramp. And on Tuesday, a 43-year-old snowmobiler died after he was caught in an avalanche.
The Retallack Lodge specializes in catskiing. It is an alternative to helisking and uses tracked vehicles, similar to hill grooming machines, to carry guests up steep slopes from standard ski lifts.
With a file from The Canadian Press