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轉貼 © The Vancouver Province 2007
Edmonton ski instructor identified as man who died after striking tree
Revelstoke Mountain Resort tragedy
CanWest News
Published: Friday, December 28, 2007
EDMONTON -- An Edmonton ski instructor has been identified as the man who died on the first day of operation of a mammoth new ski resort in B.C.
Tal Hofstra, a 24-year-old Rabbit Hill instructor, was skiing with his Calgary girlfriend and another man on Saturday when he told the pair he wanted one last run. They told him they would wait at the bottom of Jalapeno, a difficult black diamond run on Mount MacKenzie, near Revelstoke.
The pair raised the alarm when Hofstra didn't show up. It was snowing heavily and the wind was blowing when he disappeared, hampering search efforts.
An RCMP helicopter found Hofstra's body on Christmas Day at the base of a tree after weather conditions had improved.
He apparently died of a head injury after striking the tree, his grandmother Joyce Hofstra said.
"Police told us he never suffered."
Hofstra lived for skiing, his grandmother said.
"He spent two years instructing in Colorado. This winter he was instructing at Rabbit Hill. That was his job."
Hofstra grew up on his father's dairy farm. After graduating from high school he made skiing his full-time area of interest.
"He had a lot of training," his grandmother said. "He knew all the skills to survive. He knew all the tricks of the trade."
The opening day of a major ski mountain was a chance that couldn't be missed. Revelstoke Mountain Resort, on Mount MacKenzie, has 1,443 metres of vertical drop serviced by an eight-person gondola and a four-person, high-speed quad.
Opening day attracted thousands of skiers, snowboarders and local officials. It was also a day when heavy winds battered the upper slopes of the mountain.
A two-day search by Revelstoke Search and Rescue, a local heli-skiing company and resort staff found nothing. Finally, on
Dec. 24, the weather began to calm and a police helicopter was able to join the search, using a thermal-imaging camera. The aerial search turned up nothing that day.
The search continued the next day with the assistance of Parks Canada and the Revelstoke Mountain Rescue Group.
On Christmas Day, Hofstra's body was recovered within the boundary of the resort, at the base of a tree, partially covered in snow. |
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发表于 2007-12-28 09:11:38
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