A US man working in Australia for the southern hemisphere winter has been named as the snowboarder killed in a crash at Perisher Ski Resort.
Drew Youngquist, 22, died at the scene following a “snowboarding incident” yesterday afternoon in the advanced terrain park at the NSW resort, about 20 kilometres west of Jindabyne.
According to his LinkedIn page, the University of Utah student had been in the Snowy Mountains since May, working for a company offering outdoor expeditions and activities to young people.
He’d previously worked in the ski patrol and medical personnel at the internationally renowned Park City resort in Utah.
“I’m currently finishing my Honors BS in Emergency Medical Services at the University of Utah with an emphasis in Wilderness Technical Rescue,” Youngquist said in his profile.
“Along the way, I’ve worked in prehospital settings from the streets, to ski slopes, to stadiums.”
Emergency services were called to the crash about 2.30pm yesterday and paramedics tried to save Youngquist but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Perisher Ski Resort, Ski Patrol, and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest’s family and friends,” Perisher vice president and general manager Nathan Butterworth said yesterday.
On its website, the resort says the “world-class and critically” slopestyle terrain park in Front Valley is home to “all the biggest jumps and rails in the resort”.
