Man dead after apparent snowboarding accident on Mt. Washington, RCMP say

A snowboarding accident appears to have claimed the life of a Vancouver Island resident.

Police were called to the Mount Washington Alpine Resort on Tuesday around 5:15 p.m. PT after reports of a deceased snowboarder, according to a release from Comox Valley RCMP.

The release identifies the dead person as a 22-year-old male and resort staff say he was visiting the ski hill from Victoria.

General manager Dean Prentice told CBC the deceased was riding in-bounds with friends on intermediate-level trails when he was seen falling and then did not meet the rest of the group at the end of the run.

He said the group alerted ski patrol and both a patrol team and the man's friends retraced his steps before finding him in an area where there was a lot of snow accumulation.

The resort was hit with about 40 centimetres of snow in a short period of time Tuesday.

Prentice said a trauma doctor was at the resort at the time and assisted first responders with life-saving efforts, but the snowboarder did not survive.

"It's heartbreaking," said Prentice. "I am absolutely gutted by the experience."

Prentice also expressed condolences to the loved ones of the deceased on behalf of all resort staff.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed it is investigating the death. For privacy reasons, the man has not yet been identified.