A Toronto woman died while skiing at Banff Sunshine Village in Alberta on Saturday, and is being remembered as a kind soul who leaves behind a son.
It was around 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon when skiers on the hill alerted staff about a woman falling off the Banff Avenue ski area into some deep snow.
Sunshine spokesperson Kendra Scurfield says their patrol team was on scene in three minutes, but the woman was unresponsive and died on scene.
Scurfield says it was what’s called a deep snow immersion, when someone falls into deep, loose snow and can’t free themselves.
A family member identified the woman as 47-year-old Farah Merchant from Toronto, saying she would be deeply missed.
“She was a loving and devoted mother to her son, Liam, a cherished daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, etc. She had a kind soul and touched so many lives with her love, warmth, and compassion. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” a post by Faiz Merchant reads.
Scurfield says situations like this aren’t common, and they hit their team pretty hard.
“At this point in time, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and her friends, in what we are sure is a very difficult time for them,” she said.
It has been the fourth snowiest month in Sunshine Village’s 100-year history.
