A US professional mountaineer killed by an avalanche while snowboarding described weather and snow conditions as 'absolutely unbelievable' hours before she died.
Liz Daley, 29, from Tacoma, Washington took a photograph of the 7,000-foot Cerro Vaspignani peak in Patagonia, Argentina on Monday before posting it to her Instagram account.
Around 2pm local time Daley was snowboarding on the steep mountain when thousands of tonnes of ice and snow slid away, carrying the professional extreme sports star to her death.
Extreme sports professional Liz Daley, pictured died following the avalanche in southern Argentina
On the morning of her death, Daley took this photograph of the mountain that would eventually kill her
Daley, 29, recently joined the Eddie Bauer sports team to promote the company's clothing and equipment
The avalanche carried Daley over the edge of a large cliff and she was killed by the trauma. Help arrived at her within minutes, but her injuries were too severe to save her.
In her last ever Instagram post Daley was pleased with the conditions: 'Whelp! That was sick. The weather and snow conditions are absolutely unbelievable here in Patagonia. AH! Somebody pinch me! S***, might need a roundhouse kick. #Alaskagonia #powdergonia.'
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ShareAccording to one of her sponsors Eddie Bauer: 'Liz was an accomplished splitboarder, alpine climber and mountain guide who was born and raised in Washington. She was a beloved member of our snow sports team and will be sorely missed by all those who knew her.'
It is understood the accident happened in Southern Argentinian Patagonia near the border with Chile.
Her two-member film crew and three of her sports team escaped injury during Monday's accident.
Daley's death is the third to have hit the extreme sports community in South America over the past week.
Daley was killed on Monday in Patagonia near the Argentinian / Chilean border in the Monte Fitz Roy area
Daley, pictured, was the third professional winter sports professional killed in South America last month
The avalanche carried Daley over the side of a large cliff and she died as a result of the trauma
Chilean searchers on Tuesday found the bodies of professional skiers Carl Andreas Fransson of Sweden and Jean Phillipe Auclair of Canada. They had been missing since an avalanche swept them away while they were hiking in Chile's south.
Daley worked as a professional mountaineer, guide and participated in a range of extreme sports.
According to Snowbrains.com Daley was on the Cerro Vaspignani peak along with pro snowboarder Chris Coulter, pro skier Drew Tabke, guide Kent McBride, photographer Chris Figenshau and film maker Nick Kalisz.
It is understood that the avalanche happened at 2pm local time on September 29. Her body was later recovered by the Argentine military.
The American Alpine Institute paid tribute to Daley on its blog: 'Liz guided mountaineering, ice climbing, and backcountry splitboarding in the North Cascades of Washington; rock climbing in Red Rock, Nevada; and expeditions on Mt. McKinley, Alaska. She was a sponsored athlete for Patagonia, Jones Snowboards, and most recently for Eddie Bauer for whom she was on assignment in Patagonia. She pursued extreme splitboarding in the North Cascades, in Alaska, and in Chamonix, France, where she spend part of every winter.
'Liz was regarded as America’s top extreme splitboarder for her spectacular descents in the Cascades, Alaska, and the European Alps. She was highly skilled as a guide, and her background included Avalanche Training AIARE Level 1 & 2 and certification as an Emergency Medical Technician.
'Her death in an avalanche is felt as especially tragic because she was so willing to give up a potential “killer descent” when there were indicators of instability in the snowpack. She sought extreme challenges but she never sought risk.'
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