Latest news with #PerisherSkiResort
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Snowboarder, 22, who died at Aussie ski resort was an American on a working holiday - as the cause of the fatal accident is revealed
A young snowboarder who tragically died at one of Australia's most popular ski resorts has been identified as an American student. Drew Youngquist, 22, sustained fatal injuries after colliding with a padded pole at Perisher Ski Resort, in the Snowy Mountains, about 2.30pm on Tuesday, A helicopter and several ambulance crews rushed to the crash site but, sadly, Mr Youngquist died at the scene. The young student had arrived in Australia in May to work as seasonal Winter Operations Staff member for an education company, Action Learning Initiatives, based in nearby Jindabyne. Mr Youngquist was studying Emergency Medical Services at the University of Utah and wrote online of his goal to become 'a physician who doesn't just treat symptoms'. 'I want to listen, to understand, and to seek out others' stories,' he wrote. The 22-year-old was also an experienced skier, having grown up in one of America's top skiing destinations and home of the 2022 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City, Utah. He even worked as ski patrol and medical staff at Utah Olympic Park. '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,' Mr Youngquist 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.' Action Learning Intiative's director Nathan Brown told the Daily Telegraph Mr Youngquist's colleagues were shattered. '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.' The family of Mr Youngquist learned of his death in the hours after the accident. '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 manager Nathan Butterworth said. Mr Youngquist was injured in Front Valley Terrain Park, which features jumps ranging from 4.6 metres to 9.1 metres. Those include some of the biggest jumps at the resort, which is the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere. It is made up of four villages and boasts 1,245 skiable hectares and more than 100km of marked cross country trails. Most of the resort caters to beginner and intermediate skiers, with about 18 per cent dedicated to advanced sportsmen. Perisher is located on Mount Kosciuszko and reopened for the 2025 snow season on June 7. 'Every season, this park attracts and challenges professional athletes from all over the world due to its constantly evolving features,' its website states. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Aussie ski resort horror as 22-year-old snowboarder is found dead
A young man has died in a tragic snowboarding accident at a popular ski resort in the Snowy Mountains. NSW Police said the 22-year-old man died at Perisher Ski Resort, about 30km west of Jindabyne, following a crash about 2.30pm on Tuesday. A helicopter and several ambulance crews rushed to the crash site but the snowboarder died 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 manager Nathan Butterworth said. The young snowboarder was injured in Front Valley Terrain Park, which features jumps ranging from 4.6 metres to 9.1 metres. Those include some of the biggest jumps at the resort, which is the largest ski resort in the southern hemisphere. It is made of four villages and boasts 1,245 skiable hectares and more than 100km of marked cross country trails. Most of the resort caters to beginner and intermediate skiers, with about 18 per cent dedicated to advanced sportsmen. Perisher is located on Mount Kosciuszko and reopened for the 2025 snow season on June 7. 'Every season, this park attracts and challenges professional athletes from all over the world due to its constantly evolving features,' its website states. A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Daily Mail
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Health minister defends taxpayer-funded trip to Thredbo Ski Resort
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has been grilled after he spent hundreds of taxpayer dollars on a 456km car journey to the Snowy Mountains to visit his son. Park travelled from Sydney to Jindabyne on Thursday, 29 August 2024. The trip coincided with the lead-up to the Interschools Snowsports Championships at Perisher Ski Resort from September 3 to 8, where his son was competing. Ministerial diaries show that Park held only two official meetings between August 29 and September 2, one with a caravan business representative and another with the CEO of the mental health charity ManWalk. And it's not the first time Park has used a government car to visit the ski fields. Travel logs show similar trips to Thredbo in both November and December 2024, with the private driver completing round trips of nearly 1,000km each time, delivering Park to the Snowy Mountains and returning to Sydney without any passengers. When questioned about the taxpayer-funded trips, Park defended the travel. 'The trips allowed me to reunite with family while undertaking work on a handful of other occasions,' he said in a statement. Park maintained that everything he had done was within the rules. 'These trips were in accordance with the rules at the time, and I've always followed the relevant guidelines,' he told The Guardian. 'We inherited guidelines for ministerial driver use that had too many grey areas. But we accept those guidelines needed to be tightened, and the Premier has since changed those guidelines.' The government updated the rules in February 2025, after former Transport Minister Jo Haylen resigned over her own misuse of ministerial drivers. Haylen had directed a taxpayer-funded driver to chauffeur her to a lunch at Brokenwood Wines and deliver her children to weekend sport around Sydney. One trip, a private long weekend getaway to the Hunter Valley with Housing Minister Rose Jackson, their husbands, and two friends, cost taxpayers $750. The group dined at the high-end restaurant The Wood, while the driver waited outside for three hours. In total, the driver worked a 13-hour shift and drove 450km. All of Park's ski trips occurred before the new rules were introduced. Under the revised guidelines, drivers can only be used for official business. 'Any use of a driver for private purposes must be incidental to the discharge of the minister's official duties,' the new rules state. 'Incidental use' is defined as minor, work-related errands or quick stops, such as dropping off or picking up a child from school en route to official duties.
News.com.au
27-05-2025
- Climate
- News.com.au
Perisher's peaks dusted with more than 10cm of snow ahead of ski season
The ski season has started early with Australia's largest resort covered in fresh snowfall overnight. Less than two weeks ahead of its official opening, Perisher Ski Resort's seven peaks was covered by more than 10cm of snow as of 4pm on Tuesday. 'Overnight temps dropped to a fresh -3C and, combined with plenty of precipitation, Perisher is wearing some white this morning,' the resort said. 'We're stoked to have 10cm of fresh snow on the ground after a wild and windy 24 hours at Perisher. 'It's the perfect prelude to the season, and we're counting down the days until we're ripping in again.' The first snow of the season arrived in early and mid-May. Winter sport enthusiasts welcomed the woolly weather, hoping for more as Perisher's opening on June 7 – coinciding with the King's Birthday long weekend and three-day Peak Music Festival – gets closer. 'Please please please Mother Nature turn on the taps,' one wrote. 'Keep up the hard work ghosts of Perisher.' 'Keep it coming,' another said, while a third added: 'Love it'. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast a very high chance of snow showers across the day, expected to ease into the evening. A low of minus 4C is set to hit the slopes on Thursday.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Incredible scenes days before slopes open
The ski season has started early with Australia's largest resort covered in fresh snowfall overnight. Less than two weeks ahead of its official opening, Perisher Ski Resort's seven peaks was covered by more than 10cm of snow as of 4pm on Tuesday. 'Overnight temps dropped to a fresh -3C and, combined with plenty of precipitation, Perisher is wearing some white this morning,' the resort said. 'We're stoked to have 10cm of fresh snow on the ground after a wild and windy 24 hours at Perisher. 'It's the perfect prelude to the season, and we're counting down the days until we're ripping in again.' The first snow of the season arrived in early and mid-May. Winter sport enthusiasts welcomed the woolly weather, hoping for more as Perisher's opening on June 7 – coinciding with the King's Birthday long weekend and three-day Peak Music Festival – gets closer. 'Please please please Mother Nature turn on the taps,' one wrote. 'Keep up the hard work ghosts of Perisher.' 'Keep it coming,' another said, while a third added: 'Love it'. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast a very high chance of snow showers across the day, expected to ease into the evening. A low of minus 4C is set to hit the slopes on Thursday.
