American skier Kyle Smaine died on Sunday at the age of 31 in an avalanche on Mount Hakuba Norikura in Nagano, Japan. The death of the former half-pipe skiing world champion (2015) was confirmed by the photographer of the magazine “Mountain Gazette” and his family. Smaine is one of the two victims of this avalanche.
According to the North American magazine, Smaine was with another professional skier, Adam U, who survived, and with the publication’s photographer, Grant Gunderson, when he was hit by the avalanche.
On Sunday, “my worst nightmare happened,” Gunderson wrote on Instagram. According to the photographer, the avalanche was caused by another skier and Kyle Smaine was eventually launched about 50 meters from the place, buried under snow and ultimately did not resist.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Grant Gunderson (@grant_gunderson)
The other fatal victim is an Austrian national, Austria’s Foreign Ministry told AFP.
According to ESPN, Adam U spent 25 minutes under the snow, but managed to survive. Speaking to “Mountain Gazette” magazine, the skier recalled that “doctors did everything they could for Kyle and the other skier.”
According to the magazine, an investigation has been opened into the accident.
Kyle Smaine was a gold medalist at the 2015 Freestyle Skiing and Snowboarding World Championships, having retired from international competition in 2018.
“You loved skiing more than anyone I’ve ever met,” recalled Jenna Dramisea, Smaine’s wife, in a post on the social network Instagram.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jenna Dramise (@jennadramise)
Source: DN
