2 days ago
American man who died at Perisher revealed as 22-year-old Drew Youngquist
An American man who had travelled to Australia for the snow season has died in a snowboarding accident at Perisher, just months after arriving to work as a guide.
22-year-old Drew Youngquist died around 2.30pm on Tuesday after colliding with a padded pole on the ski fields near Jindabyne, about five-and-a-half hours south of Sydney.
Despite urgent efforts by ski rescue crews and NSW Ambulance, he could not be revived.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Youngquist was an experienced skier who had been in Australia for only about three months. His family in the United States were informed of the tragedy within hours.
Earlier this year, Mr Youngquist had shared his excitement on LinkedIn about joining local Jindabyne-based company Action Learning Initiatives.
The company's director, Nathan Brown, said his colleagues were devastated.
'We are deeply saddened by the passing of Drew yesterday. He was a much-loved member of our team at ALI,' Mr Brown said.
'He was a warm and loving young man full of energy and passion for the outdoors. We will miss him, and our thoughts are with his family in Utah during this tragic time.'
'I grew up skiing from a young age at Snowbasin resort. After my dad taught me how to ski, I decided I wanted to snowboard and taught myself that,' he wrote online.
'I recently got into ski touring and got my avalanche rescue certifications. I even enjoy working on my skis and just finished my first season as a ski patroller.'
Perisher's vice president and general manager, Nathan Butterworth, expressed his condolences.
'Perisher Ski Resort, Ski Patrol, and the entire Vail Resorts family extend our deepest sympathy and support to our guest's family and friends,' he said.
NSW Police are preparing a report for the coroner.
