Mr Bradford’s sister-in-law Maree Bradford, married to his only brother Neil, described him as “bubbly, outgoing, energetic, a big kid at heart, loved by everybody”. She said that while growing up in Casula, in Sydney’s west, his dream had been to see the world. He had loved working at the resort and was “having the time of this life”.

Mr Kontor, a business graduate from Edith Cowan University, was working in the Perth offices of Cadbury Schweppes and saving for a house when a friend asked him to go on an overseas trip 18 months ago, his uncle, Bob Kontor, said yesterday. “He was having the overseas adventure that most of the young ones have, he was having a great time,” he said.

CANADIAN authorities were at a loss last night to explain the cause of a snowmobile accident that claimed the lives of two young Australians at the ski resort of Whistler.

Relatives flew to Whistler to retrieve the bodies of Benjamin Kontor, 23, of Perth, and Joshua Bradford, 24, of Sydney, as investigators prepared to determine if speed was a factor when the snowmobile hit a rock and slammed into a tree.

There were no witnesses to the first fatal snowmobile accident since the Whistler resort was established in the 1960s.

Both men were wearing helmets, the weather was clear, there was good snow-cover and Mr Bradford, who was driving, had received extensive snowmobile training. Preliminary investigations by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found the snowmobile ran off a trail, hit a rock and then ploughed into the tree. Thetwo men died at the scene at Whistler Blackcomb Resort, north of Vancouver in British Columbia.

RCMP Corporal Brent Keibel said the section of the trail where the two men died was “no more dangerous than any other part of the mountain”. With no witnesses it was difficult to tell what had happened and whether the snowmobile was going too fast.

The two lift operators were cleaning up at the resort after the season finished on Sunday.

At the time of the accident, they had finished their duties at the top of a run called Emerald Chair, near the top of Whistler Mountain, and were making their way by snowmobile to another lift known as the Creekside Gondola to prepare for an evening function at the Raven’s Nest Restaurant.

The accident occurred at about 7pm Canadian time on Monday on a snow trail known as Whisky Jack.

Mr Bradford’s sister-in-law Maree Bradford, married to his only brother Neil, described him as “bubbly, outgoing, energetic, a big kid at heart, loved by everybody”. She said that while growing up in Casula, in Sydney’s west, his dream had been to see the world. He had loved working at the resort and was “having the time of this life”.

Mr Kontor, a business graduate from Edith Cowan University, was working in the Perth offices of Cadbury Schweppes and saving for a house when a friend asked him to go on an overseas trip 18 months ago, his uncle, Bob Kontor, said yesterday. “He was having the overseas adventure that most of the young ones have, he was having a great time,” he said.

Mr Kontor’s sister Natalie, 27, and brother Adam, 29, who had also been working abroad in recent months, were due to arrive in Canada from England yesterday to retrieve his body.

Their father Werner, a German-born retired accountant, was too distressed to speak yesterday after learning of his son’s death from relatives who heard it on a radio news bulletin.

Whistler resort executive David Brownlie said the two men had been living in staff accommodation and their deaths were a shock to everybody.

Also published on news.com.au as Two Australians killed in ski resort accident.