A male snowboarder found unresponsive in a treed area on Mount Washington has died.

Dale Logan, Mount Washington Alpine Resort含羞草研究社檚 risk manager, confirmed Tuesday morning that on the afternoon of Jan. 22, the snowboarder had been off-piste (ungroomed area) within the resort含羞草研究社檚 boundary.

The incident has been turned over to the BC Coroner Service.

含羞草研究社淭his is a very sad tragedy,含羞草研究社� stated Mount Washington Alpine Resort general manager Peter Gibson, in a release. 含羞草研究社淓veryone here at the resort sends our sincerest condolences to the family and friends. I would like to thank our dedicated patrol staff for their assistance.含羞草研究社�

Sheila Rivers, marketing manager for Mount Washington, told The Record the area in which the snowboarder was found is considered 含羞草研究社渙utside the runs that we groom.含羞草研究社�

She could not confirm if the death was related to the intense snowfall the resort received within the past few days.

At this point in the investigation, the cause of death is unknown.

Rivers noted it is the first death at the ski resort since a Saanich teen died in 2015 while snowboarding.

Reid Michael Kyfiuk, 15, was discovered dead in a three-metre-deep formation known as a 含羞草研究社渟now hole.含羞草研究社�

According to the most by the Ministry of Justice, there were 96 deaths attributed to skiing and snowboarding from 2007 to 2016.

Rivers added the resort cannot confirm if the death occurred in a tree well, and noted the coroner will be investigating further.

-With files from John McKinley