BELLINGHAM – A Canadian man fell to his death after apparently skiing over a cliff in an out-of-bounds area at the Mount Baker Ski Area.
Trinidy J. McQuar, 20, from Vancouver, B.C., fell at least 120 feet from a rock wall on the face of Pan Dome, Whatcom County Undersheriff Carey James said Monday.
McQuar had been skiing Sunday with a brother and two friends near the Chute, a double-diamond ski run, said Duncan Howat, general manager of the ski area.
“They were looking for powder,” Howat said.
McQuar separated from the other three, who said they called after him to join them going down the Chute, he said.
Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Jilk said skiers on the chair lift saw the three skiers in the out-of-bounds area and yelled directions on how to get down to safety.
McQuar’s group said they never saw him again.
“He went past two rope lines that warn you of the cliffs,” Howat said. “For whatever reason, he ignored those warnings and kept going and going to the point where he went all the way and fell off the cliff.”
The fall occurred late Sunday morning, he said. Ski area employees found the body.
It was the first death this season at the ski area, which opened earlier this month. Accidents in that area are rare, Howat said. Warnings are posted “so that you know what’s coming up.”
The four were skilled skiers, Jilk said, but they were not familiar with the Mount Baker Ski Area. “I don’t think they knew exactly where they were,” he said.
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