In a story first picked up by The Guardian, a professional Swedish skier by the name of Matilda Rapaport died over the weekend as the result of a tragic accident that occurred while she was filming promotional content for Ubisoft’s upcoming new IP STEEP, which centers around extreme sports.
In Matilda’s final video on Instagram, it seemed like business as usual for her.
Matilda was caught in an avalanche over in the Andes Mountains near Chile on July 14th. They managed to rescue her, but the oxygen deprivation caused significant brain damage that resulted in her death. Ubisoft’s official statement (via Gamespot) on the incident noted the bold “courage, passion, and desire” Matilda had for her work. “We are deeply saddened to learn the death of Matilda Rapaport, the remarkable Swedish freeskiing athlete,” the spokesperson said. “During a video production in Chile on Thursday, July 14th, Matilda was caught in an avalanche. Despite the medical care and treatment over the subsequent days, it was not possible to save her life.”
While I’d normally plug the official social media links of whatever topic I talked about here, instead we should take the time to reflect on this horrible tragedy. Matilda knew the risks of her job, but she loved doing it anyway. If there’s a life well spent, she truly lived the most out of her time here with us.
