Kiwi dies on Vancouver snowboarding trip

This photo was Kieran McDonogh's last post on Facebook (Kieran McDonogh / Facebook)
This photo was Kieran McDonogh's last post on Facebook (Kieran McDonogh / Facebook)

A New Zealand man on a snowboarding trip in Canada posted a smiling photo of himself just hours before dying in an out-of-bounds area.

Local media do not give any details about the man's nationality, but Newshub understands he is 42-year-old Kieran McDonogh, from Auckland but most recently was living in Rotorua.

The accident happened on February 24 (local time) at the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort in Vancouver.

His latest photo was posted to Facebook earlier that day.

Mr McDonogh was found unresponsive by a member of the public. Ski patrollers performed CPR on him before two doctors arrived, but he was pronounced dead on the scene, Pique news magazine reports.

It is understood his family have travelled there to retrieve his body.

Tributes are already being paid to Mr McDonogh who had only recently travelled to Vancouver.

"I feel like my heart has literally sunk.

"I just heard the man I consider a true friend, my original mentor who is behind most of my success and someone I truly admire has passed away on his snowboarding trip," friend Zach Crawford wrote on Facebook.

Mr Crawford, based in Indiana, said he'd only spoken with Mr McDonogh a few days earlier and had planned to visit him in New Zealand later this year.

"I know I told you a million times how much you meant to me and how thankful I was to have you as a friend and someone to guide me, but you will forever be missed.

"I learned several very valuable lessons from you like truly caring about people, always wear a big smile on your face because it's infectious and to appreciate every moment and live life to the fullest," he wrote.

The posts paint a picture of a good friend, and an "amazing guy with a huge heart".

Mr McDonogh was keen on the outdoors and aside from snowboarding, he was also into other other sports including mountain biking.

He had only recently gone on his first overseas trip over several months last year.

Mr McDonogh also worked as an internet marketer, with one friend remembering him as "one of the most insightful marketers around".

He was passionate about the internet and had plans to make his fortune from it, even backing the Kim Dotcom-founded Internet Party in the 2014 election.

Mr McDonogh even met and chatted to the internet tycoon in his pool during a picnic for members at Mr Dotcom's Coatesville mansion in April 2014. He also had his photo taken with Mr Dotcom.

Kieran McDonogh and Kim Dotcom in 2014 (Kieran McDonogh / Facebook)
Kieran McDonogh and Kim Dotcom in 2014 (Kieran McDonogh / Facebook)

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the British Columbia Coroners Service is investigating.

In a statement, the Whistler Blackcomb resort said it "extends our deepest sympathy and support to our guest's family and friends".

Newshub.