A woman involved in a skiing expedition accident received CPR. The Mounties and coroner are investigating after a young woman who was killed while snowboarding during a cat-skiing expedition in southeastern B.C.
Dangers in the wild
The 32-year old woman, a resident of the Kootenays region was on a backcountry trip with a group of 12 skiers in the Retallack Lodge area. Her identity has not been released but police stated that she was an experienced snowboarder.
According to Kaslo RCMP, the group was descending a run when they noticed that the victim was missing. The guide found her using an avalanche transceiver and found her buried head-first in the snow.
The woman was transported down from the mountain by guides from the lodge. They administered CPR on her all the way to the healthcare facility in Kaslo but the resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful.
The incident occurred around 3 PM on a remote slope in the Selkirk Mountains. The victim was declared dead 3 hours after she was found. The investigators stated that preliminary information suggests that she tripped in fresh snow and fell backward down a hill.
Cat-skiing which was a concept popularized in B.C. roughly 30 years ago involves bringing teams of skiers into the high alpine by ski hill grooming machines, usually called snowcats.
Importance of CPR training
It is recommended to enroll in a CPR course to learn the life-saving technique. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an essential skill that can improve the chances of survival during emergencies.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a CPR course and for more information, check out these sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiopulmonary_resuscitation
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr-treatment
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600