Body of lost skier found in Gasp provincial park

The body of a 36-year-old man who perished while on a ski expedition in Gasp provincial park was found by a pair of skiers yesterday.

Bertrand Marcotte of Pont-Rouge, near Quebec City,had been missing since last Sunday.

Marcottehad beenon a skiing and hiking trip with friends in the Chic-Choc Mountains but decided to set off on his own with all his gear, including a sleeping bag.

Quebec provincial police say his body was found buried in the snow near the former Madeleine Mine, located about a kilometre away from a warming hutwhere Marcottehad been expectedto take refuge.

Quebec police Sgt. Claude Doiron saidtwo skiers noticed something yellow under the snow at around noon yesterday and began digging. That's when they found Marcotte's body.

The skiers called the park's authorities and the Sret du Qubec. Officers were still in the area, gathering information from park visitors.

Police had called off the search on Friday after search-and-rescue teams losthope of findingBertrand alive.

The search had been hampered by last week's extreme weather. More than 150 centimetres of snow fell in parts of the Chic Chocs over the course of several days, and high winds grounded helicopters.