Kyle Smaine: 1991-2023
Image: dpa
Former world halfpipe champion Kyle Smaine was on a ski tour in Japan when an avalanche went off a mountainside. He was 31 years old.
Dhe world halfpipe champion Kyle Smaine died in an avalanche accident in Japan. As US media reported on Tuesday, citing his family, the 31-year-old and another man were found by a search and rescue team in central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture with no signs of life.
They were out on a ski tour at the weekend when an avalanche went off on a 2100 meter high mountain slope. There was heavy snowfall in the area at the time of the accident. The local authorities had therefore issued avalanche warnings. A total of four men were hit by the snow masses. According to Japanese police, two of them managed to get to safety.
