Professional Skier Kyle Smaine, 31, Killed in Avalanche in Japan

Professional skier and 2015 halfpipe world champion Kyle Smaine was killed in an avalanche in Japan on Sunday. The 31-year-old from South Lake Tahoe was one of two fatalities in the incident that occurred in the backcountry on Hakuba Norikura mountain near Japan’s Tsugaike Mountain Resort. The second victim is an Austrian skier whose identity has not yet been released. 

According to the Mountain Gazette, Smaine was in Japan on a media trip sponsored by Ikon Pass and Nagano Tourism with fellow professional skier Adam Ü and Mountain Gazette senior photographer Grant Gunderson. The group was free skiing in the backcountry on Sunday afternoon local Japan time. According to reports, the area had seen heavy snowfall in recent days. 

The Mountain Gazette, who spoke to Ü via phone after the tragedy, reported that the three skiers skied one lap without incident, after which Gunderson decided to return to the resort. 

“We saw it coming,” Ü told the Mountain Gazette. “We heard the crack. We realized it is a big one. We started running and then we got hit.” 

Ü was caught up in the avalanche and buried under 1.5 meters (5 feet) of snow. A guided group in the vicinity was the first to respond to the incident and begin search and rescue efforts. Miraculously, Ü was recovered unharmed after spending roughly 25 minutes below the snow. 

“The skier buried next to him died from internal injuries,” Gunderson posted. “Kyle was thrown 50 meters by the air blast and buried and killed.”

According to Japanese police, the three skiers at the top of the mountain when the avalanche slid were eventually able to climb down safely. 

Smaine married his longtime partner, Jenna Dramise, in November 2022.