MONTREAL - Mourners paid their last respects on Sunday to Marie-Josee Fortin, the Quebecer who died of hypothermia in British Columbia after being stranded with her husband for a week.

More than 100 friends, family and well-wishers attended a visitation for Fortin, 44, and remembered her as outgoing, exceptional, and energetic.

No funeral service is planned but the viewing will continue Monday.

"She called us her aunt and uncle, we knew her for a long time," said close family friend Rene Lacoste.

"We're grieving too, that's why we've come to see her parents and her children, who we knew as well. It's sad, a very sad event."

He says when he first heard the news all he could think was: 'if only, if only one thing could have prevented this series of missteps.'

"But that's reality and you just have to live with it," he said.

Fortin, a nurse, died of hypothermia after waiting seven days to be rescued from a mountainside near the Kicking Horse ski resort, near Golden.

Searchers spotted and rescued her husband, 51-year-old Gilles Blackburn, two days later. He is recovering in Montreal from frostbite and exposure.

"They were a couple who had a lot of life, who were always on the go, who lived for their children," said Lacoste's wife, Cecile Cote.

"He's (Blackburn's) very, very courageous. But it's not over for him, he still has a long struggle ahead."

Blackburn has a 19-year-old son and 17-year-old daughter.

Larry Barraza, who played tennis with the couple, recalled Fortin as a woman who was athletic, hard-working and generous.

"Even though I only knew her for two years, I cried a lot when I heard the news," he said.

"She was so generous and so kind and she always wanted to improve her game. She practised and practised, she was never too tired for a match."

Barraza says Blackburn seems to be holding up well.

"He looks well, but it takes courage, a lot of courage to get through events like this," he said.

The couple skied out of bounds on Feb. 15 while on a romantic getaway in the B.C. Interior, but became lost.

On Feb. 17, an off-duty ski guide touring in the area reported spotting some tracks and an SOS stamped into the snow.

On Feb. 21, skiers saw two more SOS symbols and again notified authorities, who reported it to RCMP in Golden.

No organized search was launched until Blackburn was spotted on the mountain signalling for help, but it was too late for Fortin.

An independent review will investigate why police didn't begin the search earlier.

"It's hard to judge when you don't experience it," Cote said.

"But I think the people involved will have to re-evaluate their procedures, there are definitely changes that need to be made."

The family refused media interviews on Sunday, but Blackburn spoke with CBC and French-language Radio-Canada in an interview aired on Friday.

"The really important things, you talk about them fully," he said, describing his last days with his wife.

"We spoke about everything, dealt with a lot of things."

Blackburn says he accepts the blame for leaving the marked ski trail, but said the delayed rescue effort wasn't his fault.

"A lot of things worked against us," he said.

"What I lived through, I want to be sure no one else does. There are a number of lessons: Tell people when you're leaving, bring matches, a knife, a backpack, some things to eat, and be cautious. But mainly, make sure people know where you are."

On Saturday, two men died in an avalanche near Golden while skiing in a high-risk area.

Two other skiers got out safely.

It was the same resort area where Fortin died.